Women MPs Surrounded PM's Seat: Inside Story Of Lok Sabha Chaos

The ruckus in the Lok Sabha that led to the cancellation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to the Vote of Thanks following the President's address, had started early on Wednesday. The Opposition has been on the warpath since Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to quote from the unpublished memoirs of of former Army chief MM Naravane. 

There were several adjournments and as soon as the House proceedings started at 5 pm -- shortly before PM Modi was expected to speak -- some women MPs from the Opposition, including Varsha Gaikwad and Jyotimani, blocked the chairs of seats of the ruling party, including the seat of PM Modi.

They held a large banner that read, "Do what is right". Their protest was over the suspension of the eight Opposition MPs yesterday.

Sandhya Rai, who was filling in for the Speaker, then adjourned the proceedings. The women MPs ended their blockade only after several ministers urged them to leave.

The BJP's Manoj Tiwari later claimed the women MPs meant to attack PM Modi. 

"Whatever happened was extremely scary. It only shows the level of the Congress's desperation. The women MPs were stationed around the Prime Minister's seat in a pre-planned manner. It was only through Kiren Rijiju's quick thinking that the situation could be brought under control," he told NDTV.

When the House re-assembled at noon, Opposition members were on their feet raising slogans against the government over the issue of stand-off with China in 2020 and amid the ruckus, the house had to be adjourned again and the Prime Minister's address was cancelled.

The motion of thanks has not yet been approved by the Lok Sabha. The House has been adjourned until tomorrow, so it is likely that the discussion will continue.