New Delhi:

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today questioned why Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla bowed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his re-election on Wednesday. To this, Mr Birla replied that his values had taught him to respect elders and to meet equals as an equal.

Mr Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, was speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address. Referring to the moments after Mr Birla was elected as Speaker for the second time, he said, “I shook hands with the Prime Minister and you and then we walked you to the Chair. You are the final arbiter of the Lok Sabha. What you say fundamentally defines Indian democracy. There are two people sitting in that Chair. There is the Speaker of Lok Sabha and there is Mr Om Birla.”

“When Modiji went and shook your hand and I went and shook your hand, I noticed something. When I shook your hand, you stood straight. When Modiji shook your hand, you bowed down,” he said, prompting loud cheers from the Opposition benches. The remark triggered angry reactions from the treasury benches. 

Responding to Mr Gandhi, Mr Birla replied, “Prime Minister is the leader of the House and my values tell me to bow and show respect to those elder to me in public life and personal life. And to meet equals as an equal. These are my values.”

To this, Mr Gandhi replied, “I respect what you said. But I want to tell you, no one is bigger than you in this House. We all must bow down before you. You must not bow down before anyone.”

Dramatic scenes played out in Lok Sabha today during Mr Gandhi’s address. At one point, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP in accusing the Leader of the Opposition of insulting Hindus.

The attack came after Mr Gandhi launched a fierce attack on the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS, claiming that neither truly represented all Hindus.

Responding to Mr Gandhi, the Prime Minister stood up and said, “Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue…” The Congress leader replied, “Modi ji, BJP, and RSS is not the entire Hindu community”.