BJP's women MPs urge Speaker to take action against Oppn MPs for Feb 4 ruckus
New Delhi (PTI): BJP's women MPs have urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to take the strongest possible action against the opposition MPs who have committed "heinous acts" like moving deep inside treasury benches, climbing the table and laying a siege of the seat of the Prime Minister.
The women MPs of the BJP also said that the "alarming turn of events" in the precincts of the Lok Sabha on February 4 has left everyone deeply concerned, as the situation had the potential to result in serious and untoward consequences and could have marked one of the "darkest moments" in the history of India's parliamentary democracy.
On February 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address to Parliament due to the opposition protests.
In their letter, the BJP's women MPs said they want to put on record their deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for the exemplary manner in which the Speaker upheld and protected the dignity, decorum, and sanctity of the Lok Sabha on February 4 during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address.
On that day, the letter said that the entire House, and the whole nation, witnessed one of the "most unfortunate and regrettable incidents" within the Lok Sabha chamber.
"We saw that the members belonging to opposition parties not just entered the well of the House, but they also climbed on the table, tore papers and threw them towards the Chair.
"Moreover, distressingly, certain women Hon'ble Members crossed over to the other side with aggressive demeanour and banners and placards in their hands. They not only laid a siege of the seat of the Hon'ble Prime Minister but also moved deep inside the treasury benches where senior Ministers are seated," the MPs said in the letter.
The MPs said even though extremely agitated and furious at this grave provocation, the members belonging to the ruling party however, on the direction of the senior leaders, exercised utmost restraint and did not retaliate in any manner.
"Had we not exercised restraint, an ugly situation could have been created. To make matters even more serious, afterwards, we saw that the opposition MPs went in aggressively towards your Chamber. We could hear loud voices coming from within your Chamber," the letter said.
The BJP's women MPs said, "We, therefore, urge you to take strongest possible action under the rules, against the opposition MPs who have committed such heinous acts within the precincts of the House and brought disrepute to our democratic institutions".
They also said that during the nearly seven years of Birla's tenure as the Presiding Officer of the House, he has consistently endeavoured to enhance its prestige and effectiveness.
The MPs said as Speaker of the Lok Sabha, he has always displayed impartiality and given equal opportunity to all members irrespective of party affiliations.
"We, therefore, repose complete faith and confidence in your leadership and feel that the Lok Sabha is fortunate to have you as its custodian," they said.
The Lok Sabha has been witnessing disruptions since February 2, after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disallowed by the Chair from quoting from an article based on excerpts of former Army chief M M Naravane's "unpublished memoir", which has references to the India-China conflict of 2020.
On February 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks due to opposition protests. In an unprecedented move, the Motion of Thanks was passed on February 5 without the customary speech by the prime minister. The Speaker read out the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address, and it was passed by a voice vote, amid sloganeering by opposition members.
Birla had also said that he received concrete information that many Congress MPs could carry out an "unexpected act" by reaching the spot where PM Modi sits and, therefore, he asked him not to come to the House to deliver his address.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra refuted this.
Eight opposition members were suspended for the remainder of Budget session for unruly behaviour in the House.
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Assam polls: Cong announces first list of 42 candidates, Gaurav to contest from Jorhat
Guwahati (PTI): The opposition Congress on Tuesday took the lead in announcing its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Assam, with it comprising both sitting MLAs and former ministers, and also new faces, including sons of three prominent politicians.
The party's chief ministerial candidate and state president Gaurav Gogoi will contest from the prestigious Jorhat assembly constituency, currently held by BJP's Hitendra Nath Goswami.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha will make his first electoral foray for the assembly.
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Gogoi is currently the party MP from the Jorhat parliamentary constituency and previously represented Kaliabor twice before it was reconstituted during the delimitation exercise in the state.
The leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, will contest from the family stronghold of Nazira, which he has represented since 2016. His father, former chief minister Hiteswar Saikia, and his mother, Hemoprava Saikia, previously represented the constituency.
Three sitting MLAs -- Nandita Das from Hajo-Sualkuchi, Diganta Barman from Barkhetry and Nurul Huda from Rupohihat -- have also been included in the list.
Das, a two-time MLA, had earlier contested from Boko but following the delimitation exercise in the state, she has been shifted to Hajo-Sualkuchi while Barman and Huda will contest from the same seats they represented in the current assembly.
Former minister and state Congress president Ripun Bora will contest from Barchalla while another former minister, Ajit Singh, will contest from Udharbond constituency in Barak Valley.
Former minister and Deputy Speaker Pranati Phukan, a four-time MLA till 2016, will contest from Naharkatia in Upper Assam.
Tanzil Hussain, son of Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, will contest from Samaguri where he had lost to BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah in the 2024 by-elections which was necessitated following the election of the senior Hussain to Lok Sabha.
Prateek Bordoloi, son of Nagaon MP Prodyut Bordoloi, will contest the Margherita seat which was represented by his father thrice since 2001.
Former five-time MP and prominent tea tribe leader Paban Singh Ghatowar's son Pranjal Ghatowar will contest from the Chabua-Lahowal seat.
Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, who had unsuccessfully contested the last parliamentary polls from Gauhati, has been given the ticket for the prestigious Dispur constituency.
Former BJP MLA Ashok Sarma, who was denied ticket by the ruling party in 2021 and went on to join the Congress in 2024, will contest from his previous Nalbari seat.
Another former BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar, who joined the Congress in 2024, will contest from Sonai constituency in Barak Valley.
Former AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita, who joined the Congress in September 2025, will contest from Kamalpur seat.
Other prominent faces in the list include former Congress MLAs Durga Bhumij from Doomdooma, Binanda Kumar Saikia from Sipahjhar and Bubul Das from Jagiroad (SC) constituency.
The Congress is a leading part of the unified opposition alliance, 'Asom Sonmilito Morcha', formed to challenge the ruling BJP, and has entered into seat-sharing arrangements with the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the Left, but is yet to finalise it with Raijor Dal.
Presently, the ruling BJP's strength in the 126-member assembly is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven and BPF has three members.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.
