NEW DELHI: A day after Congress flagged the ‘denial of opportunity’ for Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to speak in the House, a delegation of INDIA alliance leaders met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday and submitted a memorandum on the Union government’s alleged disregard of Parliamentary procedures.
The delegation included the Congress’ Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, General Secretary K C Venugopal, Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party), A Raja (DMK), Kalyan Banerjee (TMC), and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP).
“The Speaker referred to Rule 349 and said the members and the LoP must follow this. What specific incident he was referring to was not clear. There was politicisation and propaganda over the Speaker’s remarks. We apprised the Speaker of how his remarks had been politicised outside,” Gogoi told reporters after the meeting.
The leaders raised many issues in the memorandum, including denying Rahul Gandhi an opportunity to speak in the House. “The present government repeatedly denies the LoP an opportunity to speak, even when formally requested.
This is a departure from past practices, where even in confrontational situations, the LoP was heard,” said the letter. The issue has become the new political flashpoint between the government and the Opposition as the INDIA bloc parties have rallied in Gandhi’s support.
Gandhi claimed on Wednesday he was not allowed to speak in Parliament after Speaker Om Birla made ‘unsubstantiated’ remarks about him.
The opposition leaders also said the government unilaterally introduces business in the House without prior consultation or information. “For instance, the prime minister’s statement in the House last week was made without prior scheduling or intimation,” the leaders said.
They alleged a neglect of adjournment motions. These motions, which were traditionally read out and allowed discussions during the Zero Hour, are now either ignored or summarily rejected, curtailing the MPs’ right to raise urgent national issues. In the letter, the opposition MPs also flagged the issue of their microphones being switched off. They also alleged that opposition parties are not being consulted on the composition and chairmanship of committees.