India, Feb. 8 -- Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Saturday squarely blamed the Opposition for Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipping the reply in Lok Sabha to the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's address.

The BJP leader claimed that before Modi was scheduled to make his speech, "40-50 MPs" had barged into Speaker Om Birla's chamber where they "spoke in a nasty way", which "made us decide that it would be better if the PM stayed away".

Rijiju, who addressed a Press conference at the BJP office, was responding to a query about the opposition's charge that the PM did not face the Lok Sabha as he was wary of charges levelled by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who had cited remarks about skirmishes ...