PN leader Bernard Grech has condemned the PL parliamentary group's motion to censure PN MP Karol Aquilina as "anti-democratic" and "a subversion of democracy."

He said that the PN parliamentary group is a united group of representatives who are working as an Opposition "against a dictatorial government."

The Nationalist Party's entire parliamentary group marched out of Parliament in protest against the government's attempt to censure Aquilina via a motion presented on Monday.

"The government has tried to use its majority to silence the Opposition in the most anti-democratic way possible," Grech said.

The Opposition leader argued that while the government has the right to utilise Parliament and its tools, "it doesn't have the right to use this majority to silence the only minority party in Parliament."

Grech sustained that the entire PN parliamentary group stormed out of the House of Representatives on Monday afternoon after deciding not to participate in this motion altogether - since this motion, in its view, was brought forward to silence "the only party that can serve as [the government's] Opposition."

He labelled this as a "dark moment" for the government, before further condemning the motion as an attempted attack to silence the PN MPs.

This motion was presented by PL Whip Naomi Cachia, on behalf of the PL parliamentary group, last Wednesday. During Wednesday's plenary, Cachia said that the government's side of the Chamber opted to defend the Speaker of the House, Anġlu Farrugia, and thus, condemn the "successive attacks" presented against him by PN MP Karol Aquilina.

In the motion, the PL parliamentary group labelled Aquilina as the PN's "de facto leader" and criticised his "arrogant behaviour" against Speaker Farrugia. The PN's justice spokesperson had called Farrugia "obscene" and "unable to think," amongst other remarks, the Labour Party had said.

Bernard Grech said that all PN MPs were elected to represent the 123,000 people who voted for them in the last general election.

In this regard, he remarked that the incumbent administration has previously attacked the media, the Law Courts, judges, and ex Chiefs of Justice because they were critical over it and its methods of governance.

Grech said that the government attempted to use Parliament to silence him and his fellow MPs in a similar manner to how it has controlled the police, the Attorney General, the Public Broadcasting Service, and public funds.

When asked whether Aquilina's behaviour was appropriate for the House of Representatives, the Opposition leader said that while everyone in Parliament must respect the rules and decorum, and that every MP deserves respect, "that respect must be earned."

"Maybe words were said that should not have been said, but let's not forget that, at the end of the day, the government is lacking in its democratic responsibilities," Grech told journalists. In this regard, he referenced how the government rejected having an urgent discussion on the recent cannabis drug heist from AFM barracks and that thousands of questions from his fellow MPs and the media have been left without a response.

"This is a government that doesn't want to follow democratic rules," he added.

Grech said that the Prime Minister recently insulted PN MP Alex Borg during a plenary session, calling him a "pulċinell." He said that this is also "an unacceptable way for politics to be conducted."

The Opposition leader said that we are living in delicate, "and even dictatorial" times. Grech said that the Nationalist Party shall keep providing people with the opportunity to be heard, before saying that the government is obliged to answer parliamentary questions (PQs), accept to discuss serious, urgent matters, and let the institutions function.