Insider: Sikkim Salutes Modi

When Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla casually asked Sikkim MP Indra Hang Subba, “Aap ko kuch bolna hai?” at the start of Zero Hour on March 23, he perhaps had an inkling of what was on the member’s mind. The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) MP began by noting how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had surpassed a record that long stood in the name of Pawan Chamling who was chief minister of Sikkim for several years. The ‘Sikkim’ connection was the apparent reason for Subba to be called on to speak and not everyone immediately noticed that he was holding a thick sheaf of papers—much more than a typical Zero Hour submission warrants. To the chagrin of opposition MPs, Subba launched into a detailed description of Modi’s rise from ordinary beginnings to being chief minister of Gujarat and then prime minister and his unbroken 8,931 days in office in both capacities. Subba said Modi had done transformative work in Gujarat and did not confine his achievements to the state.

As opposition MPs began to grumble, Subba only warmed to his theme, pointing out that the prime minister devoted more attention and committed more funds to the Northeast and tribal communities than any other leader. Birla steadfastly ignored the protests of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant and Congress’ Manickam Tagore, and Subba continued unabated. Gradually, he wound down and only then was Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla—who had been suspended till last week—called on to speak. Birla then informed Aujla that he was allowed to raise a matter pertaining to Punjab only. The suggestion that Subba’s submission was entertained only because Chamling’s record has been set aside did not seem to convince Aujla though.

Electoral Default

Congress MP Manickam Tagore’s question in Lok Sabha recently clearly had an eye on elections when he asked for an explanation for Kerala and Tamil Nadu being denied Central funds due to conditionalities. But Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was prepared and pointed out that states need to present utilisation certificates and, moreover, apply for funds in the first place. Kerala’s share of 311 crore for disaster mitigation, including 70 crore for rehabilitation in landslideaffected Wayanad, was never claimed. Perhaps because the statement showed CPM—which Congress is trying to oust—in a bad light, Tagore did not respond.

Friendly Fights

The DMK-Congress alliance for Puducherry was finalised after former Union minister P Chidambaram sorted out rival claims, but this did not prevent candidates from both parties filing nominations for the same seats. While Chidambaram’s intervention had resulted in Congress and DMK agreeing to a 16:12 share, the division of constituencies proved more challenging. The matter may be settled before the last date of withdrawal but does not augur well of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc’s prospects. In contrast, BJP, All India NR Congress, and AIADMK settled their seat-sharing smoothly.

Patnaik’s Headache

BJD patriarch Naveen Patnaik has run the party with an iron hand and rebels found out that crossing the leader does not pay. But things turned a full circle when Dilip Ray, an original member of BJD who fell out with Patnaik, defeated a BJD-Congress nominee in a keenly contested Rajya Sabha election. While some felt Patnaik made a mistake in allying with Congress, others thought he had no choice. In the end, not only did the candidate lose but Patnaik was saddled with unrepentant rebel MLAs defiantly defending their decision to cross-vote.

Choosing the Right Committee

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s proposal that the Corporate Law (Amendment) Bill, 2026 be referred to a joint committee of Parliament surprised the Congress benches. Congress MPs suggested that the Bill be sent to the finance committee instead. But Home Minister Amit Shah responded by noting that it was odd that the suggestion for a broad-based committee to be nominated by the speaker was not finding the favour of the opposition.

Dharmendra Yadav Cut Short

Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav was incensed when his microphone was switched off while he was asking Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan a question on the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations on remuneration of farmers. The MP, serving his fourth term in Lok Sabha, seemed to feel he had more to say and was not only rendered voiceless but admonished by Speaker Om Birla who said there was no need for Yadav to get agitated. Zero Hour is not the time for angry outbursts, Birla observed, leaving Yadav fuming.

Seniors by Example

Senior Congress MPs in Lok Sabha—former minister Selja Kumari, Katihar MP Tariq Anwar, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari—are regular attendees of the proceedings in the House. They are not enthusiastic participants in the disruptions but are scrupulous about participating in discussions such as the passage of the Finance Bill or departmentrelated debates. They could well be an example for younger party MPs, except that sloganeering has taken precedence and earns more brownie points than delivering an effective speech which requires much more effort.