Women MPs gheraoed PM's chair: What happened inside Lok Sabha minutes before speech

The Lok Sabha was adjourned on Wednesday minutes before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to address the House, following noisy protests by opposition MPs that escalated into confrontations near the treasury benches, triggering sharp allegations and counter-allegations from both sides.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari claimed that several opposition women MPs entered the well of the House, moved towards the Prime Minister’s chair, and ignored repeated appeals by senior ministers to return to their seats. According to Tiwari, the Prime Minister could not enter the House as the situation spiralled out of control.

“Where the Prime Minister sits, they climbed up to that area. They created a huge ruckus,” Tiwari alleged. He further claimed that opposition MPs approached with aggressive body language, raising serious security concerns, and alleged that they “could even have attacked the Prime Minister”.

At the time of the disruption, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were not present in the House.

HOW THE PROTEST WAS PLANNED

India Today’s Aishwarya Paliwal, who was inside the Lok Sabha Complex during the day, detailed how the confrontation unfolded step by step. According to her, around 15 minutes before the Prime Minister was to speak, opposition MPs were seen preparing with posters and banners, coordinating their moves in smaller groups.

Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav was seen with party colleagues, while Trinamool Congress MPs were being guided by Kalyan Banerjee. Congress MP K C Venugopal was seen strategising with party MPs. TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee entered the House with Mahua Moitra around 4.50 pm and was seen holding discussions with both Kalyan Banerjee and SP MP Awadhesh Prasad.

SP MPs were holding posters bearing images of Ahilyabai Holkar, while other opposition parties carried their own banners. The eyewitness account noted visible coordination and “bonhomie” among opposition parties on the floor of the House ahead of the Prime Minister’s scheduled address.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra entered the Lok Sabha at around 4.52 pm, roughly eight minutes before the Prime Minister was to speak, and quietly took her seat.

RUSH TO THE WELL AND ADJOURNMENT

As the clock struck 5 pm, Sandhya Ray took the Chair. Within seconds, several Congress MPs, including Geniben Nagaji Thakor, Varsha Gaikwad, Pratibha Suresh Dhanorkar and Waseem, rushed into the well along with Imran Masood and other opposition members, holding a large banner reading “Jo uchit lage vo karo”.

Members from the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party joined in, sloganeering as the protest intensified.

According to the eyewitness account, the situation escalated sharply when MPs began moving from the well towards the treasury benches. BJP leaders including Ashwini Vaishnaw, Anurag Thakur, Kiren Rijiju and Nishikant Dubey appeared taken aback as confusion broke out.

At 5.02 pm, within two minutes of the disruption, the Chair adjourned the House for the day.

FACE-OFF NEAR TREASURY BENCHES

Despite the adjournment, the commotion continued. BJP leaders attempted to control the situation as opposition women MPs continued marching forward, calling out BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who was seen moving towards the exit.

Congress MPs Geniben Nagaji Thakor, Varsha Gaikwad and Pratibha Dhanorkar were seen walking behind Dubey, asking him to turn around, leading to a brief but tense face-off near the treasury benches. BJP women MPs also moved towards Dubey, adding to the confrontation.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and other ministers were seen urging MPs to step back. Congress MP Deepender Hooda later intervened, asking members from both sides to return to their places.

The eyewitness account noted that even after the adjournment, the atmosphere remained volatile for several minutes, with the possibility of a heated argument looming before tempers gradually cooled.

EFFORTS TO CALM TENSIONS

Between 5.06 pm and shortly after, senior ministers including Ashwini Vaishnaw, Piyush Goyal, Kiren Rijiju and Anurag Thakur were seen engaging opposition leaders in conversations to de-escalate the situation. Vaishnaw was seen placing a hand on Deepender Hooda’s shoulder as part of the effort to calm tempers.

Top opposition leaders – including Priyanka Gandhi, Abhishek Banerjee, Dimple Yadav and Supriya Sule – were seen watching the situation quietly and began moving towards the exit after the adjournment. The standoff eventually ended with MPs from both sides retreating and leaving the House.

OPPOSITION HITS BACK

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra rejected the BJP’s claims, alleging that the Prime Minister avoided the House because of the protest. “He got scared and that is why he did not arrive in the House,” she said, also taking a swipe at Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, claiming they “ran away like a bullet train”.

Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav said the opposition had expected the Prime Minister to come to the House and respond to issues they wanted to raise. “We were hoping PM Modi would speak on issues such as the demolition at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi and the vandalism of the statue of Ahilyabai Holkar,” she said.