Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled reply in the Lok Sabha to the motion of thanks on the President’s address was deferred on Wednesday following sustained protests by the Opposition over Rahul Gandhi being disallowed from referring to an unpublished book by former army chief Manoj Naravane.
Modi, who was scheduled to reply at 5pm, was not present in the House against the backdrop of the Opposition’s resolve to disrupt the proceedings. The mood was evident when a group of women Opposition MPs walked up to the Treasury benches near the Prime Minister’s seat carrying a large banner as the House reassembled after multiple adjournments at 5pm. Anticipating further disruption, Sandhya Ray, who was presiding over the proceedings, adjourned the House for the day within minutes.
Sources indicated that the Prime Minister might now speak in the Rajya Sabha instead on Thursday.
In the past, Modi has delivered addresses in the Lower House despite continuous slogan-shouting by Opposition MPs, but this time there were apprehensions that the situation could turn unruly, given the palpable anger among Congress members over their leader being disallowed from speaking.
The Opposition continued to stall Lok Sabha proceedings through the day, protesting the denial of permission to Rahul to refer to the former army chief’s book and the suspension of eight of its MPs on Tuesday. Even as the Treasury benches maintained that the Prime Minister would speak as scheduled, the Opposition appeared equally determined and had reportedly planned to place its women MPs at the forefront of the protest.
Carrying a banner inscribed with the slogan “Jo uchit samjho, woh karo (Do what is right)", along with photographs of Modi and former army chief Naravane, the women MPs walked up to the Treasury benches and attempted to block seats on the ruling side, including the one earmarked for the Prime Minister.
The slogan alluded to what Modi is reported to have told Naravane when Chinese tanks attempted to enter Indian territory in Ladakh in August 2020, according to extracts of the book. The Prime Minister, however, was not present in the House. Outside the House, Rahul sought to taunt the government by displaying a copy of the former army chief’s book Four Stars of Destiny. “See, it exists — the book the government says does not,” Rahul told reporters, holding up the copy.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh had told the Lok Sabha on Monday that no such book had been published and so Rahul could not be allowed to refer to it. The government withheld permission for the book's publication in India just ahead of its launch. It was unclear how Rahul had managed a copy of it.
Rahul said he would present the book to the Prime Minister if Modi came to Parliament. "This book is not by any Opposition leader or any foreign author. It is written by the country’s former army chief, General Naravane. And the surprising thing is that, according to cabinet ministers, this book does not even exist," he said.
Education bill fear
Opposition legislators, academics and students decried the proposed law to set up an overarching body in higher education, calling it a step towards over-centralisation and control of affairs in all institutions, including state-funded universities.
DMK MP Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, CPI-ML MP Raja Ram Singh, CPM MP John Brittas and AAP MP Sanjay Singh said the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhistan Bill, which seeks to set up the VBSA as an apex regulatory and standard-setting agency in higher education, would snatch the power of institutions in deciding academic matters.
The VBSA will be a 12-member commission with regulatory, standard-setting and accreditation councils. All institutions will have to follow the standards, accreditation and regulatory norms of these councils. "Education is in the concurrent list. States have a stake. Universities built with the sweat and blood of states are being taken over by the Centre," Brittas said.