The Congress party members on Tuesday moved a privilege notice in the Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his national address on April 18 amounted to ‘abuse of power’ and cast aspersions on Opposition MPs.
In a letter to Speaker Om Birla, Congress MP K. C. Venugopal said it was 'unprecedented' for a Prime Minister to criticise Opposition members for the defeat of a government bill in Parliament.
The remarks by P Modi came after the Centre’s 2026 Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, one of three proposed legislations introduced in a special session, was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17. The bill required a two-thirds majority as it was a constitutional amendment, which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance does not possess on its own and needed Opposition support to pass.
In his address, the PM had criticised Opposition parties for blocking what he referred to as the women’s reservation bill, accusing them of acting out of ‘selfish political interests’. However, Opposition parties, including the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Trinamool Congress, maintained that while they supported women’s reservation, they opposed provisions related to delimitation of constituencies.
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Venugopal argued that the bill, presented as a measure for women’s reservation in Parliament and state assemblies, ‘surreptitiously’ included changes to electoral boundaries, which was the core concern behind Opposition resistance.
He further said making remarks imputing motives to MPs over speeches made in Parliament amounted to a breach of privilege and contempt of the House. Parliamentary privilege protects MPs’ rights and immunities, and violations can lead to warnings, penalties, or even imprisonment if upheld.
The Congress leader also called it ‘appalling’ that the Prime Minister used a national address to criticise elected representatives performing their parliamentary duties, terming it an attack on the authority of Parliament itself.
Following Modi’s address, the Congress accused him of turning an official communication into a political speech filled with ‘misleading claims’ and said the Model Code of Conduct was in force in several states due to ongoing Assembly elections. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge also alleged misuse of official platforms to target political opponents, calling it a ‘travesty of democracy’.
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