Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Speaker Om Birla, registering his "strongest protest" over not being allowed to speak during the discussion on the President’s address. He described the development as a "blot on our democracy". The letter comes after Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Tuesday following an uproar in the lower House after Gandhi read the excerpts from an unpublished memoir penned by former Army Chief MM Naravane, to which the Centre firmly objected.
The controversy stems from Monday’s proceedings, when treasury bench members objected to the Congress MP quoting an excerpt from an unpublished book by former Army Chief General MM Naravane, retired, related to the India-China clashes in Ladakh in June 2020.
They argued that parliamentary rules do not permit members to cite material from a book that has not yet been published. Naravane was the Army Chief at the time of the clashes.
Rahul claims attempt to prevent him from speaking in Parliament
In his letter to the Speaker, Gandhi referred to established parliamentary practice, writing, "By long-standing convention, 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”.
The Raebareli MP said that being “prevented” from speaking amounted to a violation of this convention and reflected what he termed a “deliberate attempt” to stop him from addressing the House in his role as Leader of Opposition.
"The right of the LoP and of each member to speak is integral to our democracy. The 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 LoP from speaking on the President’s address. This is a blot on our democracy, against which I register my strongest protest," he wrote.
Gandhi has also alleged that the government is “scared” of the contents of the book. He attempted to raise the issue again on Tuesday but was once more unable to speak in the House.
