BJP MP files notice for Rahul Gandhi's ouster from Lok Sabha

The step came in the aftermath of acrimonious exchanges between Rahul and BJP MPs over several controversial issues, including the alleged circulation of former Army Chief Gen MM Naravane’s unpublished book.

A combative Rahul, however, was unfazed by the move. In a video message, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) said whether an FIR was filed, a criminal case was registered or a privilege motion was brought against him, he would continue to fight for farmers.

He said any trade deal which “takes away the livelihood of farmers or weakens the country’s food security is anti-farmer”.

Rahul alleged that the Modi government was compromising with the interests of the country’s “annadatas” and claimed that farmers and their hard work had been handed over to the US.

On February 11, the Congress MP, while speaking on the Budget in the Lok Sabha, had levelled allegations against Union Minister and former diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri on the Epstein files disclosures.

Dubey’s retaliatory action on Thursday has stemmed from the LoP’s allegations against Puri and also against the government as a whole.

After filing paperwork to initiate action against Rahul, Dubey said the Congress MP seemed to be connected to foreign powers.

“Who is funding Rahul, whose motive is to destroy the nation? How did he get the unpublished book? The Lok Sabha must reject Rahul’s membership,” Dubey said.

“This is not the first time that Rahul has made efforts to create controversy with the objective of defaming the government…be it defence, finance, commerce, external affairs…he has the uncanny knack of fomenting public sentiments by raising unsubstantiated and unethical aspects in Parliament as well as other public fora,” Dubey said in the notice.

“The genesis of such recalcitrant attitude of Rahul stems from his active involvement with the ‘Soros Foundation’, which is notorious, worldwide, in destabilising various countries for the benefit of its client states…,” the notice said.

“All these attempts of Rahul are nothing but an attempt to destabilise our country from within…” it stated.

Prior to this development, in March 2023, Rahul was disqualified from Parliament following his conviction in a defamation case for a remark seen as an insult to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He was convicted by a court and sentenced to prison for two years in Gujarat for a 2019 speech in which he linked Modi’s last name with two fugitive businessmen, remarking how “thieves” shared the same last name.

Meanwhile, reacting to the action by Dubey, Rahul questioned why the government was always ready to make farmers sacrifice.

He said earlier, laws were introduced for the benefit of a few industrialists and now in order to ease pressure from the US, the government had opened India’s agricultural sector to American interests.