LS Speaker Om Birla defends expunging Rahul Gandhi’s words in House, says Chair has right

Birla was responding to questions on criticism against the Chair’s move to expunge words from Rahul’s speech while retaining some of those words in Union minister Smriti Irani’s address during the debate.

In the monsoon session, a part of BJP member Nishikant Dubey’s submission, in which he targeted the Congress leaders and a few mediapersons, were expunged following protests by the Opposition but were reinstated later.

Birla said, “The Chair has the right to expunge and reinstate. Those who sit in the Chair make decisions according to rules and procedures. Our endeavour will always be to see that statements made on the floor of the House are in accordance with efforts to protect the dignity and prestige of the House.”

He said his efforts to have discussions in the House will continue.

In his address at the valedictory session, Birla asserted that the dignity and prestige of the Legislature will increase only when people’s representatives hold meaningful discussions and dialogue on important issues of the country and society.

Birla also urged lawmakers to ensure good governance through enhanced transparency and accountability. He asked them to use technology to improve legislative effectiveness.

The Lok Sabha Speaker asked legislators to educate people about laws passed in Assemblies and Parliament because “public awareness is key to the effective implementation of laws”.

He also spoke on the need for modern laws and said obsolete laws should be replaced to take the country on the path of growth and prosperity.

In the just-concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had tabled Bills to replace the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act.

Presiding officers of 23 states and UTs participated in the two-day conference in Udaipur.