‘Blatant Abuse of Power’: Congress MP Submits Privilege Motion Against PM Modi in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: Congress MP K.C. Venugopal has submitted a privilege notice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that he had cast aspersions on the members of the opposition in his address to the nation on April 18 – apart from violating the Model Code of Conduct – to use a national address to attack opposition parties.

In his notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Venugopal said that the prime minister "addresses the nation on a critical matter of national concern" and such addresses are "few and far between” but Modi’s use of a national address to criticise opposition parties over a defeat in parliament is “unprecedented” and “constitutes a serious breach of privilege and contempt of the House.”

"Addressing the Nation by the Prime Minister on Government not able to muster requisite majority in Parliament, for criticising the opposition parties is unprecedented which is unethical and blatant abuse of power,” he wrote.

“Such statements by the highest executive functionary of the country constitute a serious breach of privilege and contempt of the House.”

The prime minister's address to the nation came a day after the Modi  government, for the first time in 12 years, failed to pass a constitutional amendment Bill. The Bill that sought to expand the strength of the Lok Sabha to “operationalise” women’s reservation through a contentious delimitation exercise, failed to meet the two-third majority in the Lok Sabha. Modi in his address said that the opposition’s decision to vote against the Bills was not only insulting to women but was comparable to female foeticide.

Venugopal said that Modi during his 29-minute address to the nation on the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2026 in Lok Sabha had made "direct reflections on the voting pattern of Members of the Opposition and attributed motives to them."

"It is well established that casting reflections, aspersions, imputing motives to members of parliament in regard to speeches made by them in Parliament tantamount to gross breach of privilege and contempt of the House," he said.

Venugopal wrote that on April 16 and 17, members from the opposition parties had “categorically stated that they unanimously supported reservation for women in Lok Sabha.” 

“In this regard the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act 2023 was unanimously adopted by both Houses of Parliament way back in September, 2023. As a matter of fact the Opposition specifically demanded that the reservation of women in Lok Sabha be urgently implemented fast tracking all the requirements as enunciated in Constitution and other statutory provisions. In so far as Constitution (131" Amendment) Bill 2026, in the guise of implementing Women's reservations in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies surreptitiously sought to amend Article 82 of the Constitution,” he wrote.

Venugopal said that the opposition members were only raising these concerns and it has been parliamentary convention and a fundamental privilege of every member that no person including the Prime Minister "shall reflect upon the conduct or voting of any member in the House or attribute motives to such conduct."

"Any such reflection or imputation directly undermines the dignity and authority of the House and interferes with the free and independent discharge of parliamentary duties by its members. Apart from the violation of the Model Code of Conduct, the Prime Minister's speech on national television therefore amounts to a clear and serious breach of privilege of the House and of every Member of the opposition,” he wrote.

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