The war of words between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Opposition began on Monday even before the Winter Session of Parliament got under way.

Modi, in his address to the media before the session began, criticised the Opposition for indulging in “drama”.

He accused the Opposition of turning Parliament into a "warm-up arena" for elections or as an outlet to vent their frustration after defeat, and offered to give them tips to bring positivity in politics.

He said the session must not become a stage for political theatrics but a platform for constructive and result-driven debate.

“[There are] many places to do drama; Opposition has done it in places where it was defeated, and will do it again where it will be defeated,” he declared.

The Opposition immediately fired back.

“Urgent issues like pollution and SIR should be discussed. Raising issues is not drama,” Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament.

“Drama is not allowing elected representatives to speak on matters concerning the people. Why are we not being allowed to discuss them?”

Referring to the drubbing of opposition parties in the Bihar polls, the Prime Minister said the session should not become a battleground for frustration born out of defeat, or turn into an arena for arrogance after victory.

The record turnout witnessed in Bihar elections is the biggest strength of democracy, he said, adding that the Opposition too should fulfil its responsibility and come out of its depression after loss in elections.

However, he said, the tone of their statements suggested they remained unsettled.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the PM with a post in X in Hindi.

“On the first day of the Winter Session, instead of addressing the key issues before Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has once again delivered his 'dramabazi delivery'. The reality is that the government has been continuously trampling parliamentary decorum and the parliamentary system for the past 11 years, and the long list of such instances is well-known,” Kharge, the leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, wrote.

He highlighted instances from the last Monsoon Session, saying at least 12 bills were passed in haste, some in less than 15 minutes and some without any discussion.

“The entire country has previously witnessed how you bulldozed anti-farmer black laws, GST, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and such bills through Parliament in a frantic rush,” he added.

He pointed out that on Manipur, the prime minister remained silent until the Opposition brought a no-confidence motion.

Kharge emphasised that booth-level officers are continuously losing their lives due to workload, and that the Opposition intends to prioritise issues including 'vote theft', which they will continue to raise in Parliament.

He said, “The BJP should now end this drama of distraction and engage in debate in Parliament on the real issues facing the people. The truth is that the common man is struggling with unemployment, inflation, economic inequality, and the looting of the country's precious resources, while those in power are playing the game of dramabazi in the arrogance of authority.”

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also hit out at the PM.

“The PM never attends Parliament and undermines it. He never engages with the Opposition. Yet before every session he will stand outside the Parliament building and speak grandly to the nation asking for constructive cooperation from the Opposition to ensure the smooth functioning of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” Ramesh said.

“If Parliament doesn't function smoothly the fault is entirely that of the PM and his stubborn refusal to allow the Opposition to raise issues of urgent public importance,” he said.

“He wants to always have his way without giving the Opposition an opportunity to at least have its say. The PM's statement before Parliament begins is nothing but hypocrisy. The biggest dramabaaz of them all is talking of drama,” he added

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the Prime Minister’s remarks, and said, “Everyone knows who creates drama. People are losing their lives, BLOs have died — is this drama? The BJP uses police and guns to stop voters. Such wordplay should be avoided.”

The Winter session of Parliament begins Monday and will run until December 19. It is expected to be stormy, and the beginning of the first day was ample proof of that.