‘Blot on democracy’: Rahul writes to Speaker Birla, flags ‘deliberate attempts’ to silence LoP’s voice on national security

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla, reminding him of his duties ‘as the impartial custodian of the House’, after he was allegedly not allowed to speak during the ongoing Budget Session.

In the letter dated February 3, Rahul said that during Monday’s debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, he was directed to authenticate a magazine article on former Army Chief General MM Narvane’s book that he wanted to refer to in the House.

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He added that he complied with the direction and authenticated the said magazine while resuming his speech today but was still not allowed to speak.

“By long-standing convention, including repeated rulings of past Speakers, a Member who wishes to refer to a document in the House is required to authenticate it and affirm responsibility for its contents. Once this requirement is fulfilled, the Speaker allows the Member to quote or refer to the document. Thereafter, it becomes the responsibility of the Government to respond, and the role of the Chair stands concluded,” Gandhi wrote.

The Congress leader stated that preventing him from speaking in the Lok Sabha today not only violates this convention, but also gives rise to a serious concern that there is a deliberate attempt to prevent him, in his capacity as the Leader of the Opposition, from speaking on matters of national security.

“It is worth repeating that national security was a key part of the President’s Address, which requires a discussion in Parliament,” he added.

Rahul further sought to remind Birla of his constitutional and parliamentary responsibility to safeguard the rights of every Member.

“Hon’ble Speaker, as the impartial custodian of the House, it is your Constitutional and Parliamentary responsibility to safeguard the rights of every Member, including those of the Opposition. The right of the Leader of the Opposition and of each Member to speak is integral to our democracy,” he said.

The Gandhi scion said that the alleged refusal of these basic democratic rights has led to an unprecedented situation. “For the first time in Parliamentary history, on the behest of the government, the Speaker has been forced to prevent the Leader of the Opposition from speaking on the President’s Address.”

“This is a blot on our democracy, against which I record my strongest protest,” he added.