New Delhi: The redaction of a large chunk of his first speech as the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Monday “goes against the very tenets of parliamentary democracy”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, expressing shock that his remarks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Hindu religion, Agnipath scheme and two business houses were deleted.
The BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had dubbed his comments anti-Hindu, but Gandhi remained defiant. “They can expunge as much as they want, but the truth will prevail,” he told reporters Tuesday, a day after his maiden speech. He also demanded that the expunged remarks be restored.
Defending Gandhi in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, Congress MP and general secretary K.C. Venugopal accused the BJP of “using the Hindu religion for polarising people and winning elections”. “You are not a Hindu believer at all,” Venugopal said.
“You think Modi is bigger than God, you project him like that… that is the biggest anti-Hindu statement. Nobody is bigger than God according to the Hindu tradition. That is why God punished you in this election,” Venugopal said, indicating that his party was crafting a clear position on religion instead of tiptoeing around it.
“The fundamental question before us is not who is a Hindu and who is not, but who is a real Hindu? He is one who understands tolerance and human values. Gandhi and Godse both learnt Bhagavad Gita but Gandhi learnt non-violence, tolerance, and respect for human lives, while Godse learnt violence, murder. We believe in Gandhi’s Hinduism, not Godse’s Hinduism,” Venugopal added.
Meanwhile, the government said that Gandhi’s remarks — while speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address on Monday — were deleted as the Speaker found them violative of Lok Sabha rules.
In his letter to Birla Tuesday, Gandhi said that while the Speaker was authorised to expunge remarks, that power could be exercised only to remove words that violated Rule 380 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha.
“I am, however, shocked to note the manner in which a considerable portion of my speech has been simply taken off from the proceedings under the garb of expunction… I am constrained to state that the portions expunged do not come under the ambit of Rule 380,” Gandhi wrote.
According to Rule 380, “If the Speaker is of [the] opinion that words have been used in debate which are defamatory or indecent or unparliamentary or undignified, the Speaker may, while exercising discretion, order that such words be expunged from the proceedings of the House.”
Gandhi maintained that he merely highlighted the “ground reality, the factual position” in the House. Every member of the House personifies the collective voice of people and has the freedom of speech as enshrined in Article 105(1) of the Constitution of India, he said.
“It is every member’s right to raise people’s concerns on the floor of the House. It is that right and in exercise of my obligations to the people of the country, that I was exercising yesterday. Taking off from records my considered remarks goes against the very tenets of parliamentary democracy,” he added.
He also questioned the fact that only one word was expunged from BJP MP Anurag Thakur’s speech, which “was full of allegations”. Venugopal also raised the same issue in his speech, saying the rule book has to be applicable on all members of the House.
Earlier, on Monday, portions of Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s speech on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Modi were expunged from the records. In February 2023, large portions of Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha on Modi’s alleged ties with a top Indian billionaire were expunged, sparking a war of words between the government and the Opposition.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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