Amid criticism from the Congress party over the expunction from records of certain remarks made by party MPs Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, union Home Minister Amit Shah said that it is not the first time that remarks made in the Parliament have been expunged.
In an exclusive interview to news agency ANI, the home minister also slammed sloganeering by Opposition leaders during the Prime Minister’s reply in Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, and said that “people are seeing it”.
“This is not the first time when someone’s comments made in Parliament were expunged. The history of Parliament proceedings clearly shows this. Parliament is a place to hold discussion under rules, using parliamentary language,” Shah said.
He added, “The entire country listens to the Prime Minister. Go to the social media platforms, and read the comments in PM Modi’s speech. Some parties take a political stand and do not want to listen to the Prime Minister’s address, the public is seeing this also.” He also said that the people take these factors into account while voting.
Portions of Rahul Gandhi’s speech delivered in the Lok Sabha on February 7 were expunged – or removed – from the records of the Parliament on the order of Speaker Om Birla. At least 18 references from Gandhi’s 53-minute speech linking the rise in fortunes of billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani with the BJP’s tenure at the Centre were expunged from the record, reported The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, six remarks made by Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in his speech on the motion of thanks on the President’s address were expunged. Kharge, questioning the meteoric rise of the fortunes of Adani Group in recent years, targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government and had demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe in the Adani-Hindenburg controversy.
The US-based short-seller firm Hindenburg Research in a critical report published on January 25 made a litany of allegations against the ports-to-media conglomerate led by billionaire Gautam Adani, including stock manipulation and accounting fraud. The business group has lost crores of money following the report.
Further, Shah also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has no issues sitting with anyone and having a dialogue, adding that the “initiative has to be taken by all”.
The Budget session began on January 31 with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to both Houses of the Parliament, and the first part of the Session ended on Monday. The sittings of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will resume on March 13.
