Rahul Gandhi Rejects Claims of “Threat” to PM Modi in Parliament
A heated debate between the government and the opposition stopped work in the Lok Sabha today. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), stated clearly, “There is no question of our members attacking the Prime Minister.” He argued that the Prime Minister avoided the House because of the difficult questions he was raising.
“The problem started a few days ago when a book by General Naravane was mentioned. The government did not want me to discuss it, so they stopped the House from working,” Gandhi told the news agency PTI.
Rahul Gandhi Says He Was Prevented From Speaking
Gandhi alleged that he was repeatedly blocked from speaking. “First, they said I could not quote from a book. When I said I was quoting a magazine, they said I couldn’t do that either. Eventually, they didn’t want me to speak on the topic at all,” he said.
He also claimed the Defence Minister was wrong to say the book had not been released. “The book has been published, and we have a copy of it,” Gandhi stated. He added, “The truth is simple: the Prime Minister was afraid to come to the House. He wasn’t afraid of the members; he was afraid of what I was saying. He cannot face the truth.”
Disruptions in the Lok Sabha
The tension continued when the House met again at 2 pm. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was asked to start the debate on the Union Budget, but he asked that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak first. Tharoor later claimed that both his and Gandhi’s microphones were turned off.
“This is a very strange situation,” Tharoor remarked. “I don’t know if the Speaker or the government just doesn’t want to debate the Budget.”
Tharoor pointed out that, by tradition, the Leader of the Opposition is usually given the floor when they ask for it. He expressed concern that the government side was being favored. “You cannot only let the government speak. The House belongs to all of us,” Tharoor said. He warned that blocking Gandhi hurts the purpose of Parliament, which is to discuss and debate important issues.
Women Congress MPs Defend Their Actions
Meanwhile, a group of women MPs from the Congress party wrote to Speaker Om Birla. they were objecting to claims that they tried to move toward the Prime Minister’s seat in a threatening way.
They called these accusations “false, baseless, and defamatory.” The MPs insisted their protests were peaceful and followed democratic rules. These disagreements eventually led the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day.
The Speaker’s Warning and the MPs’ Response
On Thursday, Speaker Om Birla said he had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House. He claimed he had information that some Congress MPs might move toward the PM’s seat and cause an “unprecedented incident.”
The Congress MPs denied this, saying their protests were within parliamentary norms. They claimed they met the Speaker to ask for action against a BJP MP. According to the women MPs, the Speaker initially admitted a “grave mistake” was made, but later said he was waiting for the government’s response. They suggested he was no longer acting independently.
The MPs further claimed that the next day, the Speaker—reportedly under pressure from the ruling party—issued a statement making “grave allegations” against them to justify why the Prime Minister was absent.
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