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Journalism of Courage
Triggering yet another face-off in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla Wednesday abruptly adjourned the House after noting that members, especially Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, should conduct themselves “in a manner that maintains the high standards and dignity” of Parliament. Gandhi was not allowed to speak when he rose up to reply, and Congress sources said Birla had been unable to explain to them the provocation behind his statement.
Birla made the remarks during Zero Hour, before adjourning the House. A Congress delegation, including Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, party whip Manickam Tagore and general secretary K C Venugopal among others, subsequently met Birla in his chamber.
A Congress MP said Birla had no answer to their questions about why he had suggested that Gandhi and other members were not maintaining the dignity of the House, and told them to meet him later. “The Speaker gave no answer to our questions. We told him that this kind of disrespect of the Leader of the Opposition is unacceptable. We told him that this was the fourth time the Leader of the Opposition wasn’t allowed to speak,” the MP said.
Gogoi told The Indian Express: “We met the Speaker, but all I would like to say is that we didn’t get any clarity.”
Another Congress MP, also part of the group that met Birla, said the party suspects that the trigger for Birla was Congress questioning of his “failure to keep the House in order” whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes an appearance in Parliament and is greeted by BJP MPs with slogans.
“When the PM came to the House to speak on Kumbh, all the ministers and BJP members stood up and raised slogans. Some Congress MPs raised the issue that the Speaker could not keep the House in order. The same thing happened today (when the PM came to Parliament). Maybe that was the reason he spoke about maintaining dignity,” the Congress MP told The Indian Express.
“We think it is part of the BJP government’s agenda to demean the Leader of the Opposition,” another Congress MP who met Birla said.
In his remarks during Zero Hour Wednesday, Birla said: “Several instances have come to my notice where the conduct of members does not conform to the high standards… In this House, father and daughter, mother and daughter, husband and wife have been members. In this context, I expect the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself in accordance with Rule 349, that deals with the rules to be observed by members in the House… Especially, it is expected of the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself as per the rules.”
As Gandhi rose to speak, Birla adjourned the House.
Speaking to reporters outside, Gandhi said the House “was not being run as per democratic norms”. “After he (Birla) said that, I said, ‘Look, as the LoP, let me speak’. He just ran away. So, I don’t understand what is going on. This is no way to run the House. Literally, the Speaker got up and left and didn’t let me speak a word. He said something about me that was unsubstantiated… Whenever I get up, there is a convention that the LoP is allowed to speak… I am not allowed to speak,” the Congress leader said.
On the Speaker’s comments regarding maintaining the dignity of the House, Gandhi said: “I haven’t done anything. In the last seven-eight days, I have not been allowed to speak… There is space for the Opposition and government in a democracy, (but) here, there is no space for the Opposition… When the PM spoke on the Kumbh Mela, I wanted to add that it was good, and I wanted to say something about unemployment. But I wasn’t allowed to.”
