Whenever we stand up to speak, we are stopped: Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday interjected a Lok Sabha debate on the resolution to remove Om Birla as Speaker, saying that he was stopped from speaking in the House on multiple occasions.

Responding to BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad, who cited parliamentary procedures to say that the leader of the opposition should measure his words carefully, especially on issues of national security, Gandhi said the House did not belong to any party but the entire country.

“Whenever we get up to speak, we are stopped. Lok Sabha does not belong to one party but to the entire country,” he said.

Earlier, participating in the debate on the resolution against Birla, Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that the motion to remove the Speaker from his post should not be weaponised to “satisfy” the ego of a leader.

He said it was painful that the House was discussing the resolution as it was the result of the ego of a leader.

Quoting Practice and Procedures of Parliament, Prasad said the leader of the opposition should measure his words carefully, especially on issues of national security, and that he should eschew partisan politics.

This led to an uproar from the opposition.

Later, Dilip Saikia, who was chairing the proceedings, allowed Gandhi to respond to the allegations.