Rahul standoff rattles Opposition unity as SP, TMC back Budget debate

Amidst ongoing disruptions in the Lok Sabha, some opposition parties are signaling a willingness to engage in the Budget debate, potentially breaking the deadlock

Cracks appeared in the Opposition ranks as the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress showed willingness to participate in the debate on the Budget instead of stalling the proceedings, with the government making it clear that it cannot allow Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to have his say and not let others speak.

As deadlock in the Lok Sabha spilled into the second week, Home Minister Amit Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had a closed-door meeting with Speaker Om Birla in a possible effort to end the impasse.

The Lok Sabha has been witnessing disruptions since February 2, after Gandhi was disallowed by the Chair from quoting from an article based on excerpts of former Army chief M M Naravane's "unpublished memoir", which has references to the India-China conflict of 2020.

The Lok Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments on Monday as Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi rose to make his remarks, when the Chair had called Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to initiate the discussion on the General Budget.

Congress leaders have been accusing the Speaker of being partisan and favouring the BJP-led ruling alliance and were planning a no-confidence motion against him along with a section of the opposition.

Opposition leaders including Gandhi, Abhishek Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and T R Baalu (DMK) met the Speaker with their demands to be allowed to speak in the House and withdrawal of suspension of eight lawmakers.

Yadav, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said the opposition parties want the House to function.

"All of us in the Opposition want the House to function. This becomes even more important at a time when such a big deal has been signed with America †it is not a deal, it is a giveaway †to open up our markets," he said.

Banerjee, the leader of the TMC in the Lok Sabha, said orderly conduct of the House was essential.

"Elected opposition MPs must be given the time and opportunity to speak. They represent millions of citizens and their voices cannot be erased by arbitrary suspensions," he said.

Rijiju said he cannot agree to a situation where the LoP alone will speak, make accusations, then create a ruckus and not let others speak.

"That will not happen. We will not agree to that. If the Congress speaks, then we will insist that other members also be allowed to speak. We will not allow only the Congress party to speak," Rijiju said.

The opposition is considering giving a notice for moving a resolution to remove Birla from office for disallowing Gandhi and other opposition leaders from speaking in the House on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address as well as for the suspension of eight MPs.

When the Lok Sabha met at 2 pm after two adjournments, Sandhya Ray, who was in the Chair, asked Tharoor to initiate the debate on the Budget.

Tharoor told the Chair that Gandhi, being the LoP, should be allowed to raise certain points before he started his speech.

Ray said she had no issues if Gandhi wanted to speak on the Budget and asked him to begin.

Gandhi said at a meeting between Speaker Birla and some opposition MPs, an agreement was reached that he would be allowed to raise certain points before the Budget discussion but the Chair was now reneging on its word.

Ray said she was not aware of any such agreement and that she could not allow anyone to raise any issue without notice.

At this point, Rijiju intervened, saying there was no such agreement and if the LoP wanted to say something about the Speaker, then Birla should also be present in the House to respond.

Rijiju also said other members of the House would also speak on the subject and there would be a broader discussion.

With neither side budging from its position, Ray adjourned the House for the day.

The Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned twice earlier -- once at 11 am when the business of the day began and again after a few minutes of proceedings at 12 noon.

On February 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks due to opposition protests.

In an unprecedented move, the Motion of Thanks was passed on February 5 without the customary speech by the prime minister.

The Speaker read out the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address and it was passed by a voice vote, amid sloganeering by opposition members.

Birla also said that he received concrete information that many Congress MPs could carry out an "unexpected act" by reaching the spot where PM Modi sits and, therefore, he asked him not to come to the House to deliver his address.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra refuted this.

The discussion on the Budget was listed for February 5, but could not be initiated due to the stand-off between the government and the opposition. The stalemate continued the next day as well. The House met on Monday after the weekend break.

Eight opposition members were suspended for the remainder of Budget session for unruly behaviour in the House.