Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Feb 3: Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of denying the Opposition its right to speak and urging him to uphold the constitutional duty of acting as an impartial authority of the House.

In his letter, Gandhi alleged that he was prevented from speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address at the instance of the government. Calling the episode unprecedented, he said such action amounted to a serious blow to democratic norms.

“For the first time in Parliamentary history, on the behest of the government, the Speaker has been compelled to stop the Leader of the Opposition from speaking on the President’s Address,” Gandhi wrote, registering what he described as his strongest protest against the move.

Defending his decision to raise the issue of the 2020 India-China military stand-off in Ladakh, Gandhi argued that matters of national security were explicitly mentioned in the President’s Address and therefore warranted debate in Parliament.

Emphasising the Speaker’s role, the Congress leader said impartiality was the cornerstone of the office. He reminded Birla that it was his constitutional and parliamentary obligation to protect the rights of all members, including those on the Opposition benches, and ensure they are heard.

Gandhi’s letter came amid noisy scenes in the Lok Sabha, where proceedings were repeatedly disrupted and more than half a dozen Opposition MPs were suspended for disorderly conduct, including throwing papers towards the Chair.

The disruption followed Gandhi’s failed attempt to quote excerpts from former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane’s unpublished book, particularly references to the Ladakh stand-off with China.

Referring to the Speaker’s earlier direction, Gandhi said he had been asked to authenticate a publication he intended to cite during his speech. He stated that he complied with the requirement and authenticated the document before attempting to resume his remarks.

Citing long-standing parliamentary convention and past rulings, Gandhi wrote that once a member authenticates a document and takes responsibility for its contents, the Chair customarily allows it to be quoted, leaving it to the government to respond.

He argued that blocking him from speaking despite fulfilling this requirement not only violated established practice but also raised concerns about a deliberate effort to prevent him, as Leader of the Opposition, from addressing issues of national security in Parliament.