Selective expunction defies logic, expunged remarks be restored: Rahul Gandhi to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

Neeraj Mohan

New Delhi, July 2

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, expressing his concerns over the expunging of significant portions of his speech during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address on Monday. 

In the letter, Gandhi expressed his shock and disappointment at the manner in which his remarks were removed from the official proceedings, suggesting that this action undermines the principles of parliamentary democracy and the rights of elected representatives.

Gandhi acknowledged that while the Chair has the authority to expunge certain remarks as per Rule 380 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, he argued that the expunged portions of his speech did not violate this rule.

“I am, however, shocked to note the manner in which considerable portions of my speech have been simply taken off from the proceedings under the garb of expunction,” Gandhi wrote.

He included relevant portions of the uncorrected debates of Lok Sabha dated July 2 to substantiate his claim.

Gandhi emphasised that his expunged remarks reflected ground realities and factual positions, asserting his right as a member of the House to speak freely as enshrined in Article 105(1) of the Constitution of India.

“Every member of the House who personifies the collective voice of people whom he or she represents has the freedom of speech… It is every member’s right to raise people’s concerns on the floor of the House,” he asserted.

He further stated that the removal of his remarks from the records goes against the core principles of parliamentary democracy.

In his letter, Gandhi drew attention to a perceived double standard in the application of expunction rules. He pointed out that BJP MP Anurag Thakur’s speech, which contained numerous allegations, had only one word expunged.

“With due respect to your good self, this selective expunction defies logic,” he noted, implying a bias in the handling of parliamentary speeches.

He requested Speaker Om Birla to restore the expunged remarks to the official record. “I request that the remarks expunged from the proceedings be restored,” he wrote, emphasising the need for fairness and consistency in upholding the rights of MPs to express the concerns of their constituents.