NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday backed the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, saying he should be allowed to speak in Parliament about the 2020 standoff with China.
Tharoor, who suffered a hairline fracture after falling on the steps outside the Parliament building, was seen in a wheelchair. Speaking to reporters, he said, "The LoP should be allowed to speak, and what is more, is that what he is quoting is a matter that is already in the public domain. It is published in a magazine. All he wanted to do was make his point. By raising such a big objection and not allowing him to speak, a much larger problem has been created."
The row began when Rahul Gandhi was interrupted while addressing the Lower House for citing former Army Chief General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir on the 2020 China standoff.
The issue later spilled into the Rajya Sabha, where Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of paralysing the Lok Sabha by not allowing the LoP to speak. BJP leaders, including Leader of the House JP Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, countered that proceedings of the Lower House could not be discussed in the Upper House.
Kharge told the Rajya Sabha, "For the past four days, the House has not been functioning because it has not allowed the LoP to speak. Parliament doesn't comprise only one House. You cannot paralyse one House to hide your mistakes. You betrayed and insulted the nation."
Nadda responded, asserting that the government was open to discussions and reminded the Opposition that previous chairmen have ruled that Lok Sabha issues cannot be debated in Rajya Sabha.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh warned that there's "very little opportunity" for the house to run if Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition is not allowed to make his point in Parliament about the 2020 standoff with China.
Ramesh said, "There is only one issue in Parliament that is agitating the opposition, that the LoP in Lok Sabha has been prevented from speaking in Lok Sabha. LoP in the Rajya Sabha raised this issue. Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha have also walked out of the house today on this."
"All Opposition parties are united that if the LoP is not allowed to speak, then there is very little opportunity for the House to run," he added.
Amid the constant disruptions in Parliament, PM Modi decided to skip the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address.
Jairam Ramesh reminded that once former PM Manmohan Singh did not speak in the motion of thanks in June 2004 because he was "prevented from replying."
He added that Manmohan Singh then thanked the President twice in 2005.
"Let me remind the PM and BJP that on June 2004, Dr Manmohan Singh, the then PM, did not reply to the Motion of Thanks because he was prevented from replying. In 2005, then PM Manmohan Singh had thanked the President twice, as he could not thank him in 2004," he said.
Amid the continued disruptions, Congress suspended MP Manickam Tagore declared that the Opposition would not allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak in the Lok Sabha until Rahul Gandhi was given the opportunity to present his views.
Criticising the passing of the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address without the Prime Minister’s presence, Tagore said, "Parliament is meant for debate, dissent, and dialogue — not for silencing the Opposition. Democracy cannot survive when one voice speaks, and all others are muted."
The Lower House on Thursday passed the Motion of Thanks amid repeated sloganeering by Opposition members, forcing Speaker Om Birla to initiate a voice vote. The Prime Minister, who was expected to reply in the Lok Sabha, did not do so due to the disruptions and is now expected to address the motion in the Rajya Sabha later.