On a day 146 opposition MPs suspended in the last Parliament's session for disrupting its proceedings returned to attend the Budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted lawmakers habituated to creating disturbance and chaos and asked them to introspect.
In his customary remarks to reporters ahead of the session's start, Modi accused the MPs who disrupt Parliament's proceedings regularly of "disrobing" democratic values.
If these MPs enquire in even their own parliamentary constituencies, they will find that no one remembers those behind such ruckus and disruptions, Modi said.
But those who benefited Parliament with their superb ideas, even if they were sharply critical in their views, are remembered by a very big section of people, he said.
Their words will become a part of history, he said.
The prime minister's criticism drew a sharp response from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge who accused the Modi government of "corroding" parliamentary democracy and dubbed it as "autocratic".
It has been "violating" the Constitution and strangulating the voice of the opposition, he said in a statement.
Kharge noted said as many as 14 bills were passed in merely three days after 146 MPs, a suspension record for a single session, in both Houses.
In his comments, Modi said no one will probably remember those whose behaviour was all about negativity and creating a ruckus, and these MPs to not let go of the opportunity by the way of this last session before the polls and present the best of their ideas. They should leave a good footprint behind, he said.
He said he believed that a big section of the country's democracy-loving people will appreciate the conduct of those MPs who used their wisdom and talent and showed their concerns for the masses, even though they might have been critical in their views.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had suspended 146 MPs in the last session for their relentless disruption of proceedings over a host of issues, including security breach in the lower House.
The government has cautioned that bringing placards in the chambers and causing disruptions in violation of rules may invite disciplinary action.
Kharge said, "Pradhan Mantri ji made a statement outside the Parliament. We want to remind him how his government is responsible for corroding parliamentary democracy. In the last session of Parliament, as many as 14 bills were passed in just three days, by suspending an unprecedented 146 MPs from both Houses," he said in a statement.
"The current Lok Sabha will finish its 5-year term without a Deputy Speaker, a position conventionally reserved for an opposition member. This shows how an autocratic Modi government is violating the Constitution, and strangulating the voice of the Opposition," he alleged.
