On Wednesday, February 2, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla trained Wayanad MP and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to interfere with parliamentary norms during a debate on the agitation caused by the President’s speech within the Lok Sabha. When the senior Congress leader allowed another MP to speak in the middle of a part of his speech, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla lashed out at the Congress leader, saying, “You cannot give permission, it is my right.”
First speaking on behalf of the opposition on the stir caused by the President’s speech in the Lok Sabha, at around 25 minutes in the video, the Congress leader takes a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “Raja nahi sunte kisi ko”.
Criticizing the BJP for not listening to anyone, the Gandhi scion said, “You don’t listen to anyone and not even my dear brother and sister in BJP. Today I saw my Dalit colleague speaking, Paswan ji. He knows the history of Dalits. He knows who has persecuted Dalits for 3,000 years. But he is speaking with hesitation. He’s speaking without saying… I’m proud of him. I am proud of this gentleman. Whatever is in his heart he has spoken to me. But he is in the wrong party. Don’t worry… don’t panic,” Rahul Gandhi said as he was criticizing PM Modi and the BJP government.
When Rahul Gandhi talked about BJP MP Kamlesh Paswan, Paswan stood up in protest and there was chaos in the House. Paswan, pointing his hand towards the speaker, sought permission to talk one by one. Om Birla retaliated and asked him to sit. “No in-between… later” (No… not in between.. later), Om Birla told the chief. At this stage, the Congress leader very confidently requested Paswan to stop talking and turned to Om Birla and said: “Sir, Sir… I am a democratic person… I will allow him to speak.”
A clearly outraged Om Birla immediately reprimanded Gandhi, informing him that it was his right to be allowed to speak within the Lok Sabha and not that of the Congress chief. “Aapko kisi koi ijazat nahi dega, ye adhikar mera hai” (You can’t allow anyone, it’s my right), Om Birla said, completely embarrassing Rahul Gandhi.
Just as Rahul Gandhi was taught by Speaker Om Birla inside the Lok Sabha, several ministers also pulled up Rahul Gandhi after he responded to the speech on the cause of the President’s address in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said: “He (Rahul Gandhi) is a confused, mindless leader. He said that India is not a country. He said China’s point of view is very clear. Have you come here to support China? Tibet’s problem is only because of Congress”, Joshi targeted Rahul Gandhi.
S Jaishankar targeted the senior Congress leader and said, ‘Rahul Gandhi had said in the Lok Sabha that we did not get any foreign guest on Republic Day. Those living in India know that we were in the middle of a corona wave. The 5 Central Asian Presidents, who were due to return, held a digital summit on 27 January. Did Rahul Gandhi also remember this?
Similarly, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed Rahul Gandhi by tweeting: “Not only as the Law Minister of India but also as an unusual citizen, I appreciate what Shri Rahul Gandhi said about India’s Judiciary and Election Commission. Said, I condemn him. These are very important establishments of our democracy. Rahul Gandhi should immediately apologize to the people, the judiciary, and the Election Commission.
Not only as of the Law Minister of India but as an unusual citizen, I condemn everything Mr. Rahul Gandhi has said about India’s judiciary and the Election Commission. These are very important establishments of our democracy. Rahul Gandhi should immediately apologize to the people, the judiciary, and the Election Commission.
Rijuju was responding to Rahul Gandhi’s remark where he said that “Judiciary, Election Commission, Pegasus, all these are means to destroy the voice of the Union of States”.
