Winter Session: PM Modi attends Lok Sabha but refuses to speak

As the protests over Union government's decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes entered the third week, the standoff during the Winter Session of the Parliament continued today with the Opposition demanding the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the debate and the government rejecting the demand.

While PM Modi reached the Lok Sabha today, he did not speak, triggering more protests by the Opposition.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati asked why is the PM scared to speak in the House when he has been talking outside.

Earlier today, nearly 200 MPs belonging to a more than a dozen political parties came together to escalate their protest against the decision to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by holding a massive dharna and forming a human chain outside Parliament.