Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday slammed Union Minister Giriraj Singh for interfering in his colleague’s reply. Also said that only one minister should answer any question and its supplementary question in the House. He made this remark when Giriraj Singh stood up during Question Hour to answer another supplementary question of the Ministry of Rural Development. Earlier, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti had answered the first question.
He said, “Honorable Minister, this is not fair. All questions should be answered by either the Minister of State or the Cabinet Minister. One should not answer one after the other. You should not interfere. Let the Minister of State (Jyoti) complete the answer.” Giriraj Singh then had to sit down and the Minister of State for Rural Development answered the remaining supplementary questions.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla took serious note of the members leaving the House after making remarks without waiting for the minister’s reply during the debate on Monday. He said that he would ask the parties of such leaders not to allow them to participate during the discussion in the House. Birla made the remarks when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she was replying to a point raised by a Congress MP, who was not present in the House.
The Finance Minister was replying to a debate on the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir’s budget for 2022-23 and Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2021-22. The speaker said the minister need not react on the issue as the member is not present. Birla said, “I have seriously considered the absence of MPs in the House and it is a matter of deep concern. Do not answer I want to tell their parties that they should not be allowed to participate during the debate.
Birla also met the Austrian parliamentary delegation on Monday and said that both the countries have deep faith in democracy and democratic values, which strengthen their bilateral ties. During this, he expressed concern over the Russo-Ukraine war and said that India wants to establish peace in Ukraine through diplomatic efforts.