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Rahul Gandhi criticizes Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging he is being silenced in Parliament and not given a chance to speak, calling it undemocratic and a violation of opposition rights.
In a fiery statement on the floor of the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, lashed out at Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of not allowing him to speak during parliamentary proceedings. Gandhi, the Congress MP from Rae Bareli, claimed that his requests to address the House were repeatedly denied, calling the Speaker’s actions undemocratic and an affront to parliamentary tradition.
“I don’t know what is going on. I requested him to let me speak, but he just ran away. This is no way to run the House. The Speaker just left and did not let me speak. He said something unsubstantiated about me. He adjourned the House without reason,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters after the session was adjourned. His frustration was clear as he described how the Speaker’s actions had prevented him from raising important issues, including the unemployment crisis and other national concerns.
According to Rahul Gandhi, the convention in the Lok Sabha is that the Leader of the Opposition should be allowed an opportunity to speak. “Whenever I stand up, I am not allowed to speak. What we want to say, we are not allowed to. I did nothing. I was sitting quietly. I did not say a word. I have not been allowed to speak for 7-8 days,” Gandhi added, accusing the government of deliberately stifling opposition voices in Parliament.
This latest exchange follows a series of tense moments in the House, where opposition members had voiced their discontent during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address on the Maha Kumbh Mela. Gandhi claimed that while he supported the Prime Minister’s remarks on the event, he was unable to raise important issues like the deaths in a stampede at Prayagraj, as well as the employment opportunities that the gathering should have generated for the youth.
In his remarks today, Speaker Om Birla defended his actions, emphasizing that all members of the House must maintain decorum. “Several instances have come to my notice in which the conduct of members is not up to the high standards of this House,” Birla said. He went on to refer to the history of the House, citing instances where members from diverse backgrounds, including father-daughter and husband-wife pairs, have served in Parliament. Birla also reminded Rahul Gandhi of the need to follow the rules of conduct outlined in Rule 349.
Rule 349, according to Birla, lays down the conduct that members are expected to adhere to in the House, and he stressed that these guidelines should be followed to maintain the dignity of the proceedings. This followed his decision to adjourn the session earlier in the day due to the commotion that had ensued during the debate.
The tensions in Parliament reached a peak last week during Prime Minister Modi’s address on the Kumbh Mela, where opposition members, including Rahul Gandhi, raised concerns about the government’s handling of the event, particularly the deaths that occurred during the religious gathering. Despite the controversy surrounding the Prime Minister’s speech, Speaker Om Birla invoked Rule 372, which allows ministers and the Prime Minister to make statements in the House without responding to questions from opposition members.
Gandhi took the opportunity to reiterate his concerns, stating, “I wanted to support what the Prime Minister said. Kumbh is our tradition, history, and culture. Our only complaint is that the Prime Minister did not pay tribute to those who died in Kumbh. The youth also expected work opportunities at the Kumbh, but the Prime Minister did not address that issue.”
Despite the intense atmosphere in the House, Rahul Gandhi continued to express his discontent with the Speaker’s handling of parliamentary affairs, highlighting the growing tensions between the opposition and the ruling government. “According to democratic structure, the Leader of the Opposition should get an opportunity to speak, but they won’t let us. This is new India,” he concluded.
As the standoff between the opposition and the Speaker escalates, many are questioning whether the current atmosphere in Parliament undermines the very democratic principles that it was built to uphold. With the Opposition continuing to be silenced and the ruling government asserting its dominance, the coming days in Parliament promise to be even more contentious.
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