Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's mention of Justice B.H. Loya's death sparked an uproar in the Lok Sabha, with members from the Treasury benches reacting loudly and parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju responding by vowing to take "appropriate parliamentary action", a statement that only intensified the anger of the Opposition.

The uproar forced two brief adjournments during the discussion on 75 years of the Constitution even as Moitra attacked the BJP for allegedly targeting institutions and Opposition leaders to silence critical voices.

Moitra brought up Justice Loya while referring to defence minister Rajnath Singh’s speech during the discussion where he praised late Justice H.R. Khanna for giving a dissenting judgment during the Emergency.

"May I remind everyone that Justice Khanna lived for 32 years after 1976 under a largely Congress regime long enough to write his autobiography which the minister quoted from. Unlike poor Justice Loya," Moitra said. This was the only mention of Justice Loya in her speech.

Responding to Moitra’s reference, Rijiju said the Justice Loya case had been settled by the Supreme Court and that raising questions over it in the House was a “very serious” issue. He went on to promise “appropriate parliamentary action”. The Opposition benches rose in protest, claiming that the minister was "brazenly threatening a lady MP".

The issue united the Opposition with Congress’s K.C. Venugopal firmly defending Moitra and demanding an apology from Rijiju. “You (the Speaker) are the custodian of this House. You have the right to delete objectionable comments…. How can the minister take this right in his hand and threaten a lady MP?” Venugopal asked, demanding an apology from Rijiju.

The issue was settled after Speaker Om Birla assured the House that he would examine the comments of both Moitra and Rijiju and expunge the objectionable portions. Birla said that he had asked Moitra to authenticate her charges and assured the Opposition that Rijiju’s “threatening” remarks would be examined and expunged.

Judge Loya's death in 2014 had created a row following a media report alleging foul play as he was hearing a politically sensitive case.