Speaker Asks Rahul Gandhi to Follow Rules in the House, LoP Complained of Lack of Opportunity to Speak
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 26: A delegation of the Congress Members of the Lok Sabha called on the speaker Om Birla to bring to his attention a complaint by the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi that he was being denied an opportunity in the House to speak.
It was not known what was Mr Birla’s response to the complaint but soon afterwards he made a statement in the House that he expected members and more so the Leader of the Opposition to behave and observe the rules to uphold the dignity of the House. The congress delegation of over 70 MPs included the deputy leader of the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, and the Congress whip Manickam Tagore.
It was not immediately clear what was the reason for the Speaker to make the observation, but a post by BJP IT cell’s national convener Amit Malviya on X suggested that Mr Gandhi may have invited the speaker’s ire by walking to the seat of his sister and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi and talking to her briefly when the House session was on. The video uploaded by Mr Malviya showed Mr Gandhi going to Ms Priyanka’s seat and talking to her while the proceedings were on.
The Speaker said members are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the high standards and dignity of the House. “Several instances have come to my notice where the conduct of members does not conform to the high standards,” the Speaker said.
“In this House, father and daughter, mother and daughter, husband and wife have been members. In this context, I expect the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself in accordance with Rule 349 that deals with rules to be observed by members in the House,” the Speaker said. “Especially, it is expected of the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself as per the rules,” the Speaker said. A startled Rahul Gandhi got up to speak but Om Birla adjourned the House.
Mr Gandhi spoke to reporters outside and said. “I don’t know what is going on. I requested him to let me speak but he (Speaker) just ran away. This is no way to run the House. The Speaker just left and he did not let me speak. He said something unsubstantiated about me. He adjourned the House, there was no need,” Mr Gandhi told the media. He said the House was being run in an “undemocratic manner only for the treasury benches.” He said an unsubstantiated reference was made regarding him but wasn’t allowed to speak.
The Rae Bareli MP said the convention is that the Leader of the Opposition was given a chance to address the House. “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. This is a new tactic. There is no place for Opposition. That day, the Prime Minister spoke about Kumbh Mela, I wanted to add something, speak about unemployment, but I was not allowed to. I don’t know what the Speaker’s approach is, but we are not being allowed to speak. This is a non-democratic way of functioning,” Mr Gandhi said.
Before he adjourned the House today, the Speaker said members of the House are expected to maintain decorum on the floor. “Several instances have come to my notice in which the conduct of members is not up to the high standards of this House. I expect that the Leader of the Opposition behaves in the House in line with Rule 349,” he said. Rule 349 lays down the rules of conduct for members must observe in the House.
This comes a week after the uproar in the House during Mr Modi’s address on Maha Kumbh. The Prime Minister said the religious gathering in Prayagraj showcased India’s capabilities to the world and congratulated everyone associated with organising the mega event. As the Prime Minister spoke, Opposition members started protesting and questioned the government about the deaths in the stampede at Prayagraj.
Amid the din, Speaker Om Birla invoked Rule 372. “Rule 372 clearly states that the Prime Minister or any minister can make statements in the House, without taking any questions,” he said. Speaking to the media later, Mr Gandhi had said, “I wanted to support what the Prime Minister (Modi) 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 Congress leader said youngsters expected work opportunities at the Kumbh. “So, the Prime Minister must have spoken about it,” he said. When the media asked him about not getting a chance to speak, Mr Gandhi replied, “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. A new way in a democracy, where the Opposition has no place,” he said.
Attacking Mr Gandhi Mr Malviya said it was disgraceful that the Lok Sabha Speaker has to remind Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, about basic parliamentary decorum. “The fact that Congress has imposed this puerile man upon us is truly unfortunate,” he wrote in a post on X.
