Showdown in Parliament as Rahul, Kharge 'not allowed to speak'

Parliament was disrupted on Monday as clashes between the government and the Opposition over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's demand to speak before the Union Budget discussion led to the adjournment of the Lok Sabha and an uproar followed by a walkout in the Rajya Sabha.

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday amid a stand-off between the government and the opposition over Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi's demand that he be allowed to speak before the discussion on the Union Budget begins.

When the House met at 2 pm after two adjournments, Sandhya Ray, who was in the Chair, asked Congress member Shashi 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 starts his speech.

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

Gandhi said an agreement was reached at a meeting between Speaker Om Birla and some opposition MPs that he would be allowed to raise certain points before the Budget discussion, but the Chair was now going back 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, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren 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.

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed an uproar and a walkout by the Opposition over the incidents of the Lok Sabha, where Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi could not finish his speech, and later Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed away amid allegations that women MPs could have attacked him.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, raised the issue as soon as the Question Hour started at 12 noon.

Chairman C P Radhakrishnan allowed Kharge to speak, adding that he should not speak on anything that happened in the other House.

"I am only raising issues concerning the Constitution... Parliament consists of our House and Lok Sabha... and the Constitution recognises these two Houses... We have to run according to procedures and rules..."

Kharge said and went ahead to mention the Leader of Opposition in the Lower House is 'not being allowed to speak'.

Radhakrishnan, however, did not allow him to raise the issue relating to the Lok Sabha and said 'nothing that he says will go on record'.

The Chairman proceeded with the Question Hour. However, Kharge and other Opposition leaders continued to stand in their seats, demanding to be allowed to speak.

As the Chairman did not relent, Opposition MPs started raising slogans, accusing the ruling BJP of insulting women MPs. MPs of all the INDIA bloc parties were on their feet, except the TMC.

After raising slogans for a while, the Opposition MPs staged a walkout from the House, and the Question Hour continued.

Lok Sabha has been witnessing disruptions since February 3 after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was disallowed by the Chair from quoting from an article based on excerpts of former Army chief General M M Naravane's 'unpublished memoir' in which he has referred to the India-China conflict of 2020.

Eight Opposition MPs have also been suspended from the House.

On February 5, an anguished Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he had 'concrete information' that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's seat and carry out 'some unexpected act' as a result of which he had requested him not to come to the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

Congress' women MPs in the Lok Sabha, meanwhile, wrote to Birla on Monday, claiming that under pressure from the ruling party to defend the 'non-appearance' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he made grave allegations against them.

Several Opposition parties have decided to move a resolution to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla from office for disallowing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi from speaking in the House on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address.