Banners and protest: Opposition women MPs surround Prime Minister's chair; dramatic scenes in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha was in turmoil today due to opposition protests against the denial of an opportunity to the leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi to speak and the suspension of eight members. The ruling and opposition parties fought head-on. It ended in a verbal battle for the third day and even resulted in people climbing on the table and tearing papers. The Prime Minister's reply speech scheduled for today also did not take place.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 5 pm, but the protest intensified at the time the Prime Minister was scheduled to address. The Prime Minister did not arrive in the House despite being in the Parliament office. Even after that, Congress women MPs Varsha Gaikwad, Jothimani, R. Sudha, and Pratibha Dhanorkar were shouting slogans from near the Prime Minister's seat. The women MPs were stopped by BJP MPs led by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The verbal spat between them escalated into a brawl. Senior leaders intervened and stopped them. BJP alleged that the women MPs were targeting Modi.

The Lok Sabha was in turmoil since the proceedings began at 11 am. The Opposition stormed the stage and created a ruckus over not allowing Rahul to speak, which led to the adjournment till 12 pm. When the house met after 12 pm, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement on the trade deal with the US amid uproar and adjourned till 2 pm.

During the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address at 2 p.m., BJP MP Nishikant Dubey raised books related to Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and others, provoking Congress members. Dubey continued his speech despite being reminded by Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who controlled the Speaker's ruling house, that the book should not be displayed. With this, members including Shafi Parambil, who were in the middle, climbed onto the Secretary General's table and tore papers at the chair. The proceedings were then adjourned till 5 p.m. The Congress demanded action against Dubey in a consensus discussion called by Speaker Om Birla at 4 pm.

Eight MPs suspended on Tuesday, including Hibi Eden and Dean Kuriakose, staged a dharna on the steps in front of the Makar Dwar gate of Parliament. The protest was carried out with a banner bearing the cover of an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane (titled Four Stars of Destiny)and a photo of the Prime Minister and controversial figure Jeffrey Epstein.