THE term “black spot” used by Lok Sabha Speaker Mr. Om Birla to describe the February 5 passage of Motion of Thanks to President without the Prime Minister’s reply on the debate, has its own justification. It was for the first time that the Motion of Thanks to President was taken up for passage without the Prime Minister’s reply in the Lok Sabha of which he happened to be the member. And that happened only because the Opposition members created an unprecedented situation in the House when some of its women members surrounded the official seat of the Prime Minister with a clear idea of blocking his way and thus blocking his subsequent speech. This was nothing short of sophisticated hooliganism on the floor of the House since it was meant to prevent the Prime Minister from attending the business of the House as a formality and convention.

 

It was certainly not without reason that the ruling National Democratic Alliance members suspected a possible foul play was on the cards. It was also not without reason, therefore, that the honourable Speaker urged the Prime Minister to refrain from coming to the House. All this was unprecedented -- and fully deplorable. This incident, however, gives rise to a few critical questions, one of which is: Why did not the Speaker have those women MPs removed from the House by ordering the Marshals to move in and act tough ? If some MPs could be suspended for tearing official papers in the House and throwing those pieces at the Chair, then this act -- of blocking the Prime Minister’s way (with a huge poster with Prime Minister’s portrait in hand) was certainly bad enough to warrant their immediate suspension and physical removal from the House.

 

Hence the question : Why did not the Speaker suspend those women MPs and have them removed from the House immediately ? The honourable Speaker is also on record stating that it was he who urged the Prime Minister not to come to the House. What was his helplessness ? Why did he not take a clear step in favour of discipline, dignity and decorum of the House ? These questions are not intended to question the honourable Speaker, but to voice the concerns that arise in common people’s minds. For, if the ruling members suspected that there were certain risks involved if the Prime Minister came to the House, then why was not an appropriate action initiated -- at whatever level ? It is also true that politically, the ruling alliance will have good enough and superficially convincing answers to such questions. But, may they be told by somebody that all those answers would only be a political PR exercise intended to serve certain purpose that is far from open.

 

For, clearly, the response of the ruling alliance was hardly commensurate with the seriousness of the episode involving risks to the Prime Minister or even to his passage to his own official seat in the House of the Lok Sabha. At this stage, we make a strong case of a direct and strict action against those Opposition women MPs who ‘gheraoed’ the Prime Minister’s seat -- the action of their immediate suspension at least for the remainder of the current session of Parliament. For their action did involve risks to the Prime Minister (as per the suspicion expressed by the ruling alliance members and as per the honourable Speaker’s request to him not to come to the House at that time). This is a serious matter and needs to be dealt with in a similar seriousness. It is clear that the Opposition has crossed all the limits of decency, discipline, dignity and decorum of democracy and Parliament. For this sin, they need to be punished suitably -- not just for record but also for the succeeding generations of Indians -- in politics and elsewhere -- to learn right lessons. If that action is not taken in right time, then the very intent of the Government will be suspect -- which we must remember.