'Remarks on Chair violate dignity of House': Speaker OM Birla cautions MPs over Mahua Moitra's tweets

While the Speaker did not name any MP, the remarks came a day after Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra tweeted complaining she was not allowed to speak for the allocated time.

"Remarks on the Chair inside and outside the House violate the dignity and decorum of the House. There is a high standard of dignity in the House which is respected by all honorable members. It is the endeavor of the Chair that the House is conducted fairly by rules and procedures, the member sitting on the Chair also has all the constitutional rights of the Speaker," Birla said.

The Speaker emphasised that no comments should be made on social media about the Chair.

He was supported by MPs cutting across party lines who said it was every member's duty to uphold the respect and dignity of the House and Speaker.

Congress' leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said all MPs enjoyed good relations with the Speaker and will cooperate with him.

Trinamool Congress' Sudip Bandyopadhyay also agreed and said all MPs are committed to it.

Arvind Savant of Shiv Sena said it is a tradition to respect the Chair, adding that the MP in question was seen walking in the well of the House when another MP was speaking.

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah said the Speaker is the "master" of the House, and it was the duty of MPs to uphold his dignity. "We assure you we will always respect you and if we made any mistake forgive it," said Abdullah.

Nama Nageshwar Rao of TRS said elected representatives should not take steps which betray the trust of people while Ritesh Pandey of BSP assured the incident would not be repeated.

Supriya Sule of NCP called the incident unfortunate, and said the MPs were sad about what happened. Bhartruhari Mahtab of BJP meanwhile said, "anxiety to express our anger at times puts us in difficulty. I marked many times they (MP) crossed the well, and stood and spoke to the chair while someone else was speaking. It was a very sad day. Good most of us are opening our mind".

Jaydev Galla of TDP, and NK Premchandran of RSP also joined in the sentiment of the House, and Premchandran said it was the Speaker's 'magnanimity' that he did not name the MP.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar meanwhile said the Speaker always tries to accommodate as many MPs as possible in all debates, and called the incident unfortunate.

On Thursday, TMC MP Mahua Moitra participated in the debate on the president's address. However, when she was asked to conclude her address, she said she had more time, and asked MP Rama Devi, who was in the Chair to allow her to speak.

Rama Devi however called the next speaker, after which an agitated Moitra stood at her seat and raised her pitch asking the Chair to allow her. When the Speaker did not pay heed, she stepped in the Well of the House, and demanded to continue her speech.

Moitra also was seen talking to other Opposition MPs, and also went to Speaker Om Birla's chamber twice. Sule was also seen following her to the Speaker's chamber at one point.

Later, Moitra tweeted, "LS Speaker had allotted at least 13 minutes to me, when confronted in his chamber he claimed he was not in chair hence cant be blamed. When further cornered he said 'It was my greatness that I even allowed you 13 mins in 1st place'. Unbelievable."

She also slammed Rama Devi who was in the Chair and at one point in her speech had asked her not to be angry and to "speak with a little love".

"And who is Chair to interrupt me (taking up MY valuable time) to lecture me on whether I should speak with gussa or pyar? None of your business Madam. You can only correct me on rules. You are NOT the moral science teacher for LS," she said.

Moitra was participating in a debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's speech.