KC Venugopal Submits Breach of Privilege Notice Against PM Modi Over Address to Nation
New Delhi: Congress General Secretary (Organisation) and Lok Sabha member KC Venugopal on Tuesday filed a breach of privilege notice in Parliament against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his address to the nation on April 18 after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
In his notice, the Alappuzha MP termed PM Modi’s criticism of the Opposition as “unethical and a blatant abuse of power” and stated that attributing motives to Opposition MPs amounted to breach of privilege.
“In his 29-minute speech, which is referred to as an address to the nation, the Prime Minister criticized the opposition parties who blocked the bill and attributed reasons to the opposition parties by directly touching on their voting patterns… The Prime Minister’s address to the nation for criticizing the opposition parties because the government could not secure the required majority in the Parliament is an unprecedented behavior, it is unethical and a clear abuse of power. Such statements by the highest executive body of the country constitute a serious violation. In Venugopal’s statement, privilege and Parliament It included belittlement.
The Congress leader reiterated that the Opposition wanted one-third reservation for women MPs but opposed the restriction. He argued that the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill dealt a blow to the root of the basic structure of the Constitution.
“On April 16 and 17, every member of the Opposition parties had made it clear that they unanimously supported reservation for women in the Lok Sabha. In this regard, the Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill, 2023 was unanimously passed by both the Houses in September 2023. Fast-tracking all the requirements laid down in the Constitution and other legal provisions. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, for reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies. “Under the guise of enforcing reservations, it secretly tried to amend Article 82 of the Constitution by removing the constitutional protection/guardrail against limitation and left it to its whim and the dreams and bad intentions of the ruling party.”
“This is what the Opposition members in the Lok Sabha were protesting against while expressing their unequivocal support for reservation for women in the Lok Sabha under the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023. It is well established that casting thoughts, aspersions and attributing motives to members of Parliament in relation to their speeches in Parliament amounts to gross breach of privilege and disrespect of the House. Harmful Constitution No. 2026 aims to attack the very roots of the fundamental structure of the Constitution of India.” The (131st Amendment) Bill was dropped and it is appalling that the Prime Minister, who rightly wanted this Constitutional Amendment Bill to be passed, chose to address the nation and in this case, slander MPs who were honestly doing their job of protecting the Constitution.
He stated that this was a parliamentary convention with no consideration given to the behavior or vote of any MP. “It is a customary parliamentary convention and a fundamental prerogative of every Member (protected under Article 105 of the Constitution of India) that no person, including the Prime Minister, should reflect on the conduct or vote of any Member in the House or impute motive to such conduct. Any such reflection or imputation directly impairs the dignity and authority of the House and interferes with the free and independent discharge of parliamentary functions. Therefore, apart from any violation of the Model Code of Conduct, the Prime Minister’s national “His televised speech constitutes a clear and serious breach of the privilege of the House and of every Opposition member.”
“This matter deserves to be treated with the utmost seriousness as questioning an elected representative in the discharge of his duties is not only a personal attack but also a direct affront to the authority of Parliament and the democratic rights of the people of India,” the statement said. The statement was included.
Sharing a copy of the breach of privilege notice, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh alleged that PM Modi was indulging in “shameless partisan demagoguery”, saying it was a “permanent stain” on his record. Jairam Ramesh wrote in
This comes after Prime Minister Modi stated that the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was a direct blow to women’s self-esteem, an insult that would be permanently etched in the memories of women voters. Prime Minister Modi said, “Women can forget everything, but they never forget the insult to their pride.” The prime minister said the “sin committed by the opposition” would bring them punishment from the people. Earlier, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar expressed concern over the timing and content of the Prime Minister’s speech, alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct following elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. He claimed that the speech was political in nature and was aimed at influencing voters during the election season. P Sandosh Kumar alleged that PM Modi was using state resources, including public broadcasters Doordarshan and Sansad TV, to make partisan allegations.
