LIVE: Govt rakes up Rahul's London speech, putting Congress on the defensive
The second leg of the Budget session that commenced at 11 am today (March 13) began on a stormy note. In what came across as a role reversal, the ruling BJP went on an offensive against the Congress, leaving the main Opposition party to defend itself.
BJP demanded an apology from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for his comments on the state of democracy in the country during his speech in the UK recently. This was protested by the Congress benches and in the ensuing ruckus, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the Lower House.
Rahul Gandhi, who is a member of this House, insulted India in London. I demand that his statements should be condemned by all members of this House and he should be asked to apologise before the House: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/62GRnx2qbd
— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2023
The Rajya Sabha too was adjourned following ruckus over the same issue.
Goyal targets Rahul in RS
Leader of the House Piyush Goyal demanded that Rahul Gandhi tender an apology on the floor of Parliament for making “false allegations” on foreign soil about the state of Indian democracy.
Goyal said it was the Congress that undermined democracy by imposing the Emergency in 1975. Further, the Congress rendered its own Prime Minister (Dr Manmohan Singh) helpless to tackle corruption in the UPA govt, he said. By curbing freedom of expression, and by “misusing” Article 356 multiple times to dismiss elected state governments, the Congress was no upholder of democracy, he said.
Goyal demanded that Rahul must apologise to Parliament, the Chair of both Houses, the media, the judiciary, the EC, the Armed Forces and the Indian people for “defaming” them with his “anti-India” comments.
Opposition MPs, particularly from the Congress, raised slogans throughout Goyal’s intervention. Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar implored the House to not disrupt proceedings and said he would allow the LoP to respond to Goyal’s remarks.
LoP Mallikarjun Kharge said the Leader of the House cannot make comments about a member of the Lok Sabha while speaking in the Rajya Sabha. He reiterated that democracy had been put under severe stress since 2014.
Amid disruptions from the treasury benches, RS chairman adjourned the House till 2 pm.
Cong meeting
Earlier Congress president Kharge chaired a meeting of Congress MPs at the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) office in Parliament. Sonia Gandhi and leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, were among the party MPs present at the meeting. The meeting was called to discuss parliamentary strategy for the second leg of Budget session, that will end on April 16.
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