Amid escalating political tensions, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey revisited past Parliamentary records to highlight the fate of a substantive motion once moved in the Lok Sabha against former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi — the grandmother of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi — against whom he has moved a similar motion earlier this week seeking his disqualification from the House.
In a pointed message on X, Dubey referred to the December 1978 precedent, when Indira Gandhi was expelled from the Lok Sabha and briefly imprisoned following the adoption of such a motion.
To underscore his point, Dubey cited Parliamentary records from 1978, when Indira Gandhi lost her Lok Sabha membership after a report by the Committee of Privileges found her guilty of breach of privilege and contempt of the House. She was expelled in December 1978 after a resolution moved by then Prime Minister Morarji Desai was adopted by the Lok Sabha.
However, the expulsion was later revoked in 1981 after her return to power.
A substantive motion is an independent proposal placed before a legislative House to express a specific decision or opinion. Once admitted and formally moved, it is debated and put to vote.
Dubey’s motion seeks cancellation of Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership and his disqualification from contesting future elections. The move follows a stormy Lok Sabha session in which Gandhi sharply criticised the BJP-led Centre over the proposed India–US trade understanding. He alleged that the government had compromised national interests and “surrendered” India’s economic sovereignty, triggering protests from treasury benches.
While the government had initially planned to move a privilege motion against Gandhi, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the proposal has been deferred for now, as Dubey has already introduced a substantive motion against the Leader of Opposition.
When and how the motion will be admitted and taken up for debate remains to be seen, but the development has taken the political confrontation between the ruling BJP and the opposition to a new level.