NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday doubled down on his attack on Speaker Om Birla and said that he would “not be allowed to speak”. His remark had attracted criticism from the Speaker who had advised Rahul to follow Parliamentary decorum.
“Won’t be allowed to speak…I don’t know what they are scared of,” he said.
The Congress leader had said on Wednesday that he wanted to speak on Kumbh, unemployment but Speaker Om Birla did not allow him to talk.
“Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) ji spoke on Maha Kumbh, and I also wanted to speak about it. I wanted to say the Kumbh Mela was very good. I also wanted to raise the issue of unemployment, but I wasn’t allowed. I don’t know the Speaker’s thinking, but the truth is, we are not allowed to speak,” Rahul had said.
“I don’t know what is going on. I requested him to let me speak, but he just ran away. This is no way to run the House,” Gandhi said. “It is a convention that the Leader of Opposition is given time to speak. Whenever I stand up, I am stopped. I did nothing wrong—I was sitting quietly. Here, there is no place for democracy. There is only place for the government,” he added.
The Speaker had responded saying that Rahul and the opposition should maintain Parliamentary decorum.
“It is expected of you to uphold the high standards of the House. There have been several instances where MPs’ conduct has fallen short of these standards. I expect the Leader of Opposition to follow the rules,” Birla said.