Whenever We Stand Up to Speak, We are Stopped: Rahul Gandhi in LS
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday intervened in the Lok Sabha debate on the decision to remove Om Birla as Speaker and said that he was stopped from speaking in the House many times. Responding to BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad’s statement that parliamentary procedures require the opposition leader to carefully measure his words, especially on national security issues, Gandhi said that the Parliament belongs to the entire country, not to any party.
“Every time we stand up to speak, we are stopped. Lok Sabha belongs to the entire country, not to one party,” he said.
Earlier, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who participated in the debate on the resolution against Birla, had said that the motion to remove the Speaker should not be weaponized to “satisfy” a leader’s ego.
He said it was painful for Parliament to discuss the decision as it was the result of a leader’s ego.
Referring to the Parliament’s Practices and Procedures, Prasad said the opposition leader should carefully measure his words, especially on national security issues, and avoid partisan politics.
This situation led to a reaction from the opposition.
Later, Dilip Saikia, who presided over the hearing, allowed Gandhi to respond to the allegations.
