New Delhi: Congress MP and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has written to Speaker Om Birla of the Lok Sabha protesting parts of his remarks made during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address on July 1 that have subsequently been removed from the records of the legislature.
Gandhi attacked the BJP in his first address as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for consistently drawing attention away from pressing problems like rising inequality, the employment crisis, and inflation by inciting fear in people over sensitive religious matters.
Rahul Gandhi said that the Modi government has presided over a “systematic attack on the constitution, on the idea of India, and anybody who opposed” BJP’s promotion of “hate, untruth, and violence,” citing issues such as paper leaks in competitive exams like NEET, the introduction of the Agniveer scheme, hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities, and farmers’ demands for a legal guarantee for MSP.
Gandhi wrote that he was “shocked to note how considerable portions” of his speech had been “simply taken off from the proceedings under the garb of expunction” and asked that the parts of his speech that had been removed be reinstated.
“I am forced to state that Rule 380 does not apply to the deleted paragraphs. In the House, I tried to present the true situation as it is, based on the facts. As guaranteed by Article 105(1) of the Indian Constitution, every member of the House who personifies the voice of the people they represent is entitled to the freedom of expression. Every member has the right to bring up issues from the public on the House floor,” he wrote.
Removing parts of his speech, according to Gandhi, “goes against the very tenets of parliamentary democracy.”Gandhi remarked that the “selective expunction defies logic” of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur‘s speech, in which just one word was removed.
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According to documents kept by Parliament, some of his utterances have been removed from the record. These include his accusation that the Bharatiya Janata Party and other groups propagate violence, bigotry, and lies.
People who identify as Hindus 24 hours a day disseminate lies, violence, and hatred. You do not belong to the Hindu religion. Hindu dharma makes it quite evident that you should embrace the truth and not run from it. Our sign is nonviolence. Gandhi said, “Abhaymudra,” which has now been removed from.
At that point, Prime Minister Narendra Modi got to his feet, stepped in, and declared, “What the LoP said was a very serious subject.” Accusing the whole Hindu community of being aggressive is a very serious problem. Gandhi’s reply has been omitted, but Modi’s involvement has been kept.
“No no, Narendra Modi is not the whole Hindu community, BJP is not the whole Hindu community, and RSS is not the whole Hindu community,” Gandhi said. Gandhi stated, “Ye theka nahi hai BJP ka,” which has now been removed.
Other statements he made in his speech that were taken down included claims that people who were relocated to Ayodhya to construct the Ram Temple were not invited to the inaugural event, that people who die in the line of duty are not compensated under the Agniveer scheme, and mentions of businessmen Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.
In an interview with media on Tuesday outside the parliament, Gandhi stated that deleting some of his remarks wouldn’t alter the facts. It is possible to erase the truth in Modiji’s reality. In actuality, though, the truth is hidden. I spoke what I had to say. That is accurate. The truth will not change no matter how hard they try to obliterate it,” he said.