New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requesting the restoration of remarks expunged from his speech against the central government led by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He stated that he sought to "convey the ground reality in the House."
"I am writing this in the context of remarks and portions expunged from my speech during a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address on 1 July 2024. While the Chair derives powers to expunge certain remarks from the proceedings of the House, the stipulation is only for those kinds of words, the nature of which has been specified in Rule 380 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha," the Congress leader said in his letter.
"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," he added.
Rahul Gandhi asserted that every member of the House has the freedom of speech and the right to raise people's concerns.
"I am enclosing relevant portions of the uncorrected Debates of Lok Sabha dated 2 July. I am constrained to state that the portions expunged do not come under the ambit of Rule 380. What I sought to convey in the House is ground reality, the factual position. Every member of the House who personifies the collective voice of the people whom he or she represents has the freedom of speech as enshrined in Article 105(1) of the Constitution of India. It is every member's right to raise people's concerns on the floor of the House," he said.
The Leader of Opposition said that expunging his remarks made in the Lok Sabha is against the tenets of parliamentary democracy.
"It is that right and in exercise of my obligations to the people of the country that I was exercising yesterday. Taking off my considered remarks from the records goes against the very tenets of parliamentary democracy," he said.
Highlighting BJP MP Anurag Thakur's speech in the Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition said, "In this context, I also wish to draw attention to the speech of Shri Anurag Thakur, whose speech was full of allegations; however, surprisingly, only one word has been expunged! With due respect to your good self, this selective expunction defies logic. I request that the remarks expunged from the proceedings be restored."
After Rahul Gandhi's maiden speech created political heat, several portions of his address targeting the central government were expunged from the records of Parliament on Monday.
In his speech in Lok Sabha on Monday afternoon, during the debate on the motion of thanks on President Draupadi Murmu's address, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and RSS of preaching and spreading violence and hatred. His remarks drew protests from the Treasury benches.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, among others, stood up to express their protest and rebut the Congress MP's remarks.
The BJP leaders accused the Congress MP "of speaking lies, misleading the House, and terming the entire Hindu community violent." The Congress hit back with counter-allegations against the Modi government.
Rahul Gandhi invoked Lord Shiva, Prophet Mohammad, Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, and Lord Mahavir, saying that he had taken the idea of fearlessness from their teachings. PM Modi slammed Rahul Gandhi during his speech.
"Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a very serious matter," the Prime Minister said.
However, Gandhi backed his remarks, stating that the entire BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) do not represent the entire Hindu community.
Meanwhile, PM Modi will reply to the 'motion of thanks' on the President's address in the Lok Sabha later today.
—ANI