The Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, over the expungement of portions of his recent speech in the House. He says there is no logic behind this "selective expunction" and asks for his remarks to be restored.
In his first speech as the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing its leaders of fanning communal divisions in society. Parts of his speech during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address were later expunged.
In his letter to Birla, Gandhi accepted the Speaker's discretion to expunge remarks under Rule 380 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, which deals with certain forms of objectionable language.
“I am, however, shocked to note the manner in which considerable portions of my speech have been simply taken off from the proceedings under the garb of expunction,” the former Congress chief said.
“I am constrained to state that the portions expunged do not come under the ambit of Rule 380. What I sought to convey in the House is the ground reality and the factual position. Every member of the House who personifies the collective voice of people whom he or she represents has the freedom of speech as enshrined in Article 105(1) of the Constitution of India,” Gandhi said.
He emphasized that every member has the right to raise issues pertinent to the people on the floor of the House, which he exercised conscientiously.
“It is that right and in exercise of my obligations to the people of the country, that I was exercising yesterday,” he said.
“In this context, I also wish to draw attention to the speech of Shri Anurag Thakur, whose speech was full of allegations, however, surprisingly only one word has been expunged,” Gandhi said.
“With due respect to your good self, this selective expunction defies logic. I request that the remarks expunged from the proceedings be restored,” he said.
Addressing reporters outside Parliament, Gandhi expressed his belief that truth cannot be expunged in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's world, contrasting it with reality.
“Whatever I had to say, I have said and that is the truth. They can expunge as much as they want, but the truth will prevail,” Gandhi said.
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