NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Friday said that she has written to Inter-Parliamentary Unionaccusing Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijuju of threatening her in the Lok Sabha.
She also said that despite Speaker Om Birla indicated he would remove Rijiju’s remarks from the record, no action has been taken thus far.
“So Kiren Rijiju openly threatens me in Lok Sabha today in complete violation of parliamentary rules & procedure. @ombirlakota says he will get Rijiju’s words deleted but no action yet. Written to Inter-Parliamentary Union against this continued gender harassment & intimidation yet again,” she posted on X.
The incident happened between them during a debate on 75 years of the Indian Constitution, where Moitra’s comments regarding judge B H Loya’s death sparked controversy in the Lok Sabha.
“Honourable Defence Minister in a speech this ,morning mentioned the courage of the late justice HR Khanna to dissent in 1976. May I remind everyone, Justice HR Khanna lived for 32 years after 1976 under a largely Congress regime. Long enough to write his autobiography which the minister quoted from. Unlike poor Justice Loya, who is resting in peace long before his time,” Moitra said.
Rijiju responded by stating she had raised a matter already settled by the Supreme Court and indicated about potential parliamentary consequences.
“We will take appropriate parliamentary action. You cannot escape. You are setting a very wrong precedent,” said Rijuju.
The session was then adjourned briefly for two times, resuming only after Speaker Om Birla requested Moitra to verify her statements. He also addressed opposition concerns regarding Rijiju’s stern words towards a female parliamentarian.
BJP’s Nishikant Dubey also raised objections following Moitra’s address. Rijiju called Moitra’s comments as concerning, warning that such behaviour could set an unwanted precedent.
Following the adjournments, TMC’s Saugata Roy and Congress’s K C Venugopal objected to Rijiju’s language, highlighting that the Speaker holds authority in the Lok Sabha. They suggested proper parliamentary procedures should have been followed if there were concerns about Moitra’s speech.
Venugopal addressed Birla and said that while the minister should maintain order, he instead intimidated a female member. He requested either an apology or removal of Rijiju’s remarks.
