Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's reference to the death of judge B H Loya 'long before his time' created uproar in Lok Sabha on Friday as Union minister Kiren Rijiju accused her of raising a matter settled by the Supreme Court and warned of 'appropriate parliamentary action'.
Participating in a debate on 75 years of the the Indian Constitution, Moitra made a passing, but contentious, remarks on Loya's death as she attacked the ruling BJP for allegedly targeting institutions and opposition leaders to silence critical voices.
The House was adjourned briefly twice due to the uproar over the matter, and the debate resumed after Speaker Om Birla said he has asked her to authenticate her claims.
He also assured opposition members he will look into their reservations against Rijiju's 'threatening' language against a woman MP.
Bharatiya Janata Party member Nishikant Dubey first raised the issue Moitra finished speech.
He also objected to her criticism of former chief justice of India D Y Chandrachud, who recently retired, for a host of reasons, including receiving Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence during the Ganapati festival.
Dubey accused Moitra of making insinuation about Loya's death.
Later in a post on X, Moitra said all those reporting that 'Parliament Affairs Minster warned me - it is he who will face action for threatening me! His remarks to be deleted- not mine!'.
Rijiju said the judge's death case is settled and the TMC MP's remarks were very serious. There is no question of any link or interference, he added.
The parliamentary affairs minister said, "We will take appropriate parliamentary action. You cannot escape. You are setting a very wrong precedent."
Any member will otherwise make similar allegations, he added.
When the House reconvened after two adjournments, senior opposition members, Saugata Roy of the TMC and K C Venugopal of the Congress, protested against Rijiju's choice of words, emphasising that it was the Speaker who is the custodian of Lok Sabha.
Both the MPs said the ruling party could have resorted to appropriate rules to seek action if they had an issue with Moitra's speech.
Addressing Birla, Venugopal said, "You are the custodian. You have the powers to delete, expunge... The parliamentary affairs minister took the entire custody of House and he virtually threatened the lady member."
Roy accused Rijiju of making 'brazen effort' to threaten Moitra.
Congress leader Venugopal said the minister's responsibility is to maintain peace in the House but he instead 'threatened' and intimidated a woman member.
He demanded that Rijiju apologise or his remarks be expunged.
The Speaker lamented members engaging in personal allegations and counter-allegations, and asked them to have a constructive debate over issues related to the Constitution.
Birla said he has asked Moitra to authenticate her remarks. He said he will look into what the minister has said and will delete, if needed.
Judge Loya's death in 2014 had created a major row following a media report alleging foul play as he was hearing a politically sensitive case. The matter reached the Supreme Court.
While hearing some PILs, the SC had said there was no merit in pleas alleging foul play. It said, the judge died of natural causes.
