New Delhi: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Monday claimed that Speaker Om Birla assured him that he would be allowed to speak before the Union Budget discussions in the house, triggering a rebuttal from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and subsequent pandemonium, which led to an adjournment for the day.
The Lok Sabha reconvened at 2 p.m. after being adjourned for the second time in the day. However, just seven minutes after reconvening, it was adjourned for the day.
As Sandhya Ray, who was in the Chair, called Congress member Shashi Tharoor to speak on the Union Budget as per the order of speakers in the list of business, but he urged her to “let the LoP speak”.
Gandhi said: “Our members of the House went to the Speaker. He personally committed to us that I will be allowed to speak here and raise some points before the Budget discussion. Now, you are going back on your word. I would like to know if I am allowed to speak about those points or not?”
“No,” Ray replied.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister then said, “I was also at the Speaker’s Chamber, as was (Congress member K.C.) Venugopal. I can confirm that the Speaker had said that if everyone agrees, then the House should proceed smoothly. Then, K.C. Venugopal had said that he wants the LoP be allowed to speak. Then everyone decided on what they wanted to speak about, and only then would they give permission to speak. What Rahul Gandhi is saying is not 100 per cent correct. The Speaker did not say that Congress will get the opportunity to speak exclusively, but he said that every party will be allowed to speak.”
However, the Opposition MPs did not agree with the Union Minister and started creating a ruckus in the House. Following this, the House was adjourned for the day.
Earlier, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the second time after the Opposition members refused to maintain silence and continued with their relentless sloganeering.
Krishna Prasad Tenneti, sitting on the Chair, tried to advise the Opposition MPs to sit at their places and let the House carry on with the proceedings; however, the leaders continued to create a ruckus by raising slogans.
As Congress parliamentarians urged the Chair to let Gandhi deliver his speech, Tenneti refused, stating that the House would follow the list of business, according to which party’s Shashi Tharoor would be the first speaker on the Union Budget discussion.
When he asked if Gandhi would want to speak on the Union Budget, the Opposition MPs denied it.
Tenneti asked the Congress MP to go ahead with his speech, to which Tharoor replied that he would “leave it to the LoP”.
When the din did not fade, Tenneti adjourned the House till 2 p.m.
Earlier in the day, just minutes after the Question Hour started, Speaker Birla suspended the Lok Sabha session until noon because Opposition members refused to stop their slogan chanting.
Members of the Congress party requested that the Speaker allow the Leader of the Opposition to address the House. The Speaker responded that all members would be given a chance to speak according to the rules after the Question Hour.
He noted that Gandhi could raise his concerns during the upcoming debate on the Union Budget as well. However, due to the continued disruption from the members, he chose to adjourn the session.
Gandhi was unable to finish his speech during the Motion of Thanks for the President’s Address the previous week, as he was not allowed to mention the “unpublished book” of former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane (Retd.).
