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Got to know Cong MPs would reach PM seat, create incident, so asked him not to come to House: Speaker Om Birla

Deploring the behaviour of the Congress MPs and the use of banners inside the House, Birla said, “The behaviour of some members yesterday was unprecedented."

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 6, 2026 06:25 AM IST

that it was he who had “requested the Prime Minister not to come to the House” where he was scheduled to speak Wednesday.

Speaker Om Birla said it was he who had “requested the Prime Minister not to come to the House” where he was scheduled to speak Wednesday. (File Photo)

As the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address without the Prime Minister’s reply to the discussion on the address, Speaker Om Birla said Thursday he had “credible information that several members from the Congress” would create “an unprecedented incident after reaching the Honourable Prime Minister’s seat”, and that it was he who had “requested the Prime Minister not to come to the House” where he was scheduled to speak Wednesday.

The Congress rejected the charge that its members wanted to cause any harm to the Prime Minister. On Wednesday evening, the Lok Sabha was adjourned amid pandemonium after Congress MPs marched towards the treasury benches in protest, holding a large banner.

Deploring the behaviour of the Congress MPs and the use of a banner inside the House, Birla said, “The behaviour of some members yesterday was unprecedented. Never did such a thing happen. The Opposition members’ behaviour in the Speaker’s chamber was a black spot.”

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“When the Leader of the House was scheduled to speak on the Honourable President’s address, I got credible information that several members from the Congress can create an unprecedented incident after reaching the Honourable Prime Minister’s seat,” he said.

“I saw such a scene in the House. If this incident had taken place, such an unpleasant scene would have destroyed the nation’s democratic traditions. To prevent this, I requested the Honourable Prime Minister that he should not come to the House,” he said.

“It is sad that the Leader of the House cannot speak in the House. But I am thankful to him that he accepted my request… If you do not follow decorum, the House won’t run… The country has seen how the women members reached the treasury benches yesterday. You can speak what you wish to, but such behaviour is not acceptable. The House stands adjourned for the day,” Birla said.

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Outside the House, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra rejected the charge that her colleagues wanted to cause any harm to the Prime Minister. “It is an absolute lie. There is no question of anybody raising a hand on the Prime Minister, trying to hurt him or any such thing. There is no question. So, it is absolutely wrong for anybody to say that there was any such plan. There was no such plan,” she said.

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“But if you are going to allow your members to quote books, talk nonsense, the Opposition benches are going to protest. I am sorry, the Prime Minister is hiding behind the Speaker. They are making the Speaker say all this because yesterday he did not have the guts to come to the House. Because three women were standing before his bench… what nonsense is this,” Vadra said.

Manickam Tagore, Congress MP and party whip in Lok Sabha, echoed Vadra: “This Prime Minister is afraid to hear the Leader of Opposition and afraid to come to the Lok Sabha and afraid to speak during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address. To cover his fear, he is ready to blame even the women MPs… History will remember this clearly.”

Jatin Anand

Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. With over 16 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is a seasoned expert in national governance, electoral politics, and bureaucratic affairs. Having covered high-stakes beats including the Election Commission of India (ECI), intelligence, and urban development, Jatin provides authoritative analysis of the forces shaping Indian democracy. He is an alumnus of Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU) and the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, where he specialized in Print Journalism. Expertise High-Stakes Beat Coverage: Throughout his decade-and-a-half career, Jatin has covered some of the most sensitive and influential beats in the country, including: The Election Commission of India (ECI): Monitoring electoral policy, reforms, and the conduct of national and state polls. National Security & Intelligence: Reporting on the internal mechanisms and developments within India's security apparatus. Urban Development: Analyzing the policies and bureaucratic processes driving the transformation of India’s cities. National Political Bureau: In his current role, he tracks the intersection of policy and politics, offering deep-dive reporting on the Union government and national political movements. Academic Credentials: Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU): Alumnus of one of Delhi's premier institutions. Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai: Specialized in Print Journalism at India's most prestigious journalism school. ... Read More

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

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