Parliament winter session: Drama is the word that led the narrative for the first few hours of the winter session of the Parliament on Monday (Dec 1), and is expected to stretch further after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks angered the opposition. Briefing the media ahead of the session, PM Modi said the opposition must raise important questions and let the house function. He added that they must not do “drama”, and focus on “delivery” that the nation wants them to. 

“I would request that everyone thinks about the issues at hand. There is a lot of place for doing drama, whoever wants to do drama can do it. Yaha drama nahi, delivery honi chahiye (There should delivery here, no drama). Whoever wants to say slogans, the whole country is there, you have already said it during the defeat of Bihar elections. But here the emphasis should be on policy, not slogans,” the Prime Minister said in a veiled attack at the opposition. 

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Oppn ‘unsettled’ due to Bihar defeat

The PM said the Bihar election defeat has troubled the opposition parties and they might take out their frustration in the parliament. He urged them to set the differences aside and work to ensure smooth functioning of the house. 

“It is possible that negativity can work in politics but ultimately positive thinking is needed for nation building. Negativity should be kept aside and nation building should be the focus,” he added.

“The opposition should also raise strong, relevant issues in Parliament. They should come out of being upset (from their election defeat) and participate. I thought that it has been a long time since Bihar elections, so they would have composed themselves, but yesterday it seemed that defeat has clearly affected them,” he further said.

PM Modi biggest ‘dramebaaz’, Congress leads attack

The opposition has strongly criticised the Prime Minister’s remark, saying raising issues of national importance is not a drama. Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge called the PM biggest “dramebaaz” in a post on X. He said those in power in the country are doing “dramebazi”. 

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“BJP should end distraction drama, engage in debate on people’s real issues,” Kharge said, adding that the PM’s remarks ahead of the Parliament session is nothing but “hypocrisy”. “biggest ‘dramabaaz’ of them all is talking of drama,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi also called out the PM for the remark, saying that the election situation, SIR and air pollution are big issues in the country. 

“What is the Parliament for? It’s not a drama. Speaking about and raising issues is not drama. Drama is not allowing democratic discussions about issues that matter to the public…” she added.

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said took a jibe at NDA government and asked the PM if BLOs dying due to alleged workload of the SIR is also a drama. “Are the deaths of BLOs also a drama?…” he added.

TMP MP Sagarika Ghose mentioned that it is unbelievable that “the Prime Minister, who engages in photo-ops, theatrics, and several dress changes a day, is accusing the Opposition of ‘dramabazi’”. 

“The fact is, 40 people have died in West Bengal due to SIR. This is real suffering, not drama,” she added.