New Delhi

The Lok Sabha witnessed brief disruptions on Monday after BJP MP Tejasvi Surya challenged the Congress during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, prompting interventions from opposition members and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Speaking during the debate, Surya alleged that the Congress-led UPA governments had failed to acknowledge India’s cultural and civilisational ethos in the President’s addresses over a decade. He challenged Congress members to cite any instance to the contrary.

“Except for a reference during Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary, there was no mention of India’s culture, traditions or civilisational values in the President’s addresses during ten years of Congress rule,” Surya said.

He contrasted this with the BJP-led government’s approach since 2014, stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had emphasised a balance between tradition and technology and had delivered on that promise.

Surya’s remarks drew objections from Congress members, following which Congress MP Hibi Eden rose to counter his claims. Eden said that former Kerala legislator P T Thomas had frequently spoken about social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, and termed Surya’s remarks an affront to those contributions.

Intervening in the exchange, Home Minister Amit Shah said Eden was referring to debates in the Kerala Assembly rather than the President’s Address in Parliament.

“He is focused on Kerala, not here. Surya is speaking about the President’s Address, while he is citing speeches made in the Kerala Assembly,” Shah said.

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The debate continued after the intervention, with Surya earlier highlighting what he described as the country’s economic and developmental progress under the BJP-led central government compared to the previous regime.