NEW DELHI: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Thursday said he has submitted a substantive motion against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, seeking the cancellation of Gandhi’s membership from Parliament and demanding that he be barred from contesting elections for life.
The development follows Rahul Gandhi’s sharp attack on the Union government on Wednesday over the India-US interim trade deal. Gandhi had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having “sold the nation”, claiming that the agreement undermines farmers’ interests, harms the textile sector, and compromises India’s energy security by favouring the United States.
Responding to remarks made earlier by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju that the government would move a privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi for allegedly misleading the House, Dubey said no such privilege motion had been filed.
“There is no privilege motion. I have submitted a substantive motion wherein I have mentioned how he allegedly engages with the Soros Foundation, Ford Foundation, USAID and travels to places like Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the US, and how he is linked with anti-India forces,” he told the media.
"It is a widely acclaimed fact that neither any citizen of our country nor any public representative/ high officials does anything which lowers the dignity of our Armed Forces. There is, thus, a tacit understanding amongst all the Members of Parliament, irrespective of Party affiliations, not to drag the Armed Forces and/ or its functionaries for scoring transient political mileage. However, these ethical mores are not applicable to Shri Rahul Gandhi which is evident from his speech delivered in Lok Sabha on 11 February, 2026, wherein he has cunningly dragged the name of former Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Mukund Naravane...," Dubey said.
He said that the "need of the hour is to conduct an urgent, structured inquiry to examine all his "unethical conduct" in the capacity of being a Member of Parliament and the Leader of Opposition with a view to ensuring his immediate expulsion from Lok Sabha."
Dubey demanded that Gandhi’s parliamentary membership be cancelled and that he be permanently barred from contesting elections.
However, constitutional expert and former Lok Sabha Secretary General P.D.T. Achary raised questions about the procedural validity of Dubey’s move. Speaking to TNIE, Achary noted that Dubey had not cited the specific rule under which the motion was submitted.
“All motions are substantive. Which rule is he quoting? A motion has to be given under certain rules. If a person has committed contempt of the House, then they can give a notice of contempt. That will be examined by the Privileges Committee, and the committee will give its report or recommendations. The House will act on it, that’s the process. There is no other way,” Achary said.
Achary further clarified that while the House has the power to expel a member, it does not have the authority to disqualify one.
“Disqualification takes place only under the Anti-Defection Law and the Representation of the People's Act,” he said.
After BJP MP Nishikant Dubey gave notice to initiate a "substantive motion" against Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said the party was not concerned about such actions.
"We are not bothered about any motions. If you want to hang us, we are ready for that as well," Venugopal said. He lashed out at the government over certain remarks made by Gandhi in the Lok Sabha that were expunged from the records on Wednesday.
Responding to questions about why the Congress had taken an “extreme position” by submitting a notice seeking the removal of the Lok Sabha Speaker, Venugopal said, “We have not been getting justice from the Chair.”
When asked about the ruling party’s action against Gandhi’s remarks during the discussion on the Budget, Venugopal questioned the grounds for such measures.
“Which privilege has Rahul Gandhi broken? They removed his membership last time. What happened afterwards was that the people ensured his victory with more votes compared to Modi ji,” he said.
“We are not bothered about any motions. If you want to hang us, we are ready for that also. We will continue to tell the truth in Parliament,” he added.
On Gandhi’s remarks being expunged, Venugopal alleged that the government was pressuring the Chair to deny opposition members the opportunity to speak.
“Whatever Rahul ji said has been completely expunged from the records. Whatever Nirmala Sitharaman said, similar remarks were included in the records. The government has double standards. This Parliament is running for the government, not for the opposition,” he said.
( With inputs from PTI)