'Selective expunction': Rahul Gandhi wants Om Birla to restore Lok Sabha speech
The Rae Bareli MP also claimed the Speaker's action was against the Lok Sabha rules.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday shot off a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, demanding that the latter restore the expunged portions of his maiden speech as the Leader of the Opposition. He also accused the Speaker of carrying out “selective expunction”.
"I also wish to draw attention to the speech of Anurag Thakur, which was full of allegations, however, surprisingly only one word has been expunged! With due respect to your good self, this selective expunction defies logic," Rahul Gandhi wrote in the letter.
The senior leader alleged that a considerable portion of his speech was chopped off from the proceedings of the House under the garb of expunction.
The Rae Bareli MP also claimed the Speaker's action was against the Lok Sabha rules.
"I am enclosing relevant portions of uncorrected Debates of Lok Sabha dated 2 July. I am constrained to state that the portions expunged do not come under the ambit of Rule 380. What I sought to convey in the House is ground reality, the factual position. Every member of the House who personifies the collective voice of the people whom he or she represents has the freedom of speech as enshrined in Article 105(1) of the Constitution of India. It is every member's right to raise people's concerns on the floor of the House," he added.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi's first reaction after his Lok Sabha speech expunged: 'In Modi ji's world…'
Rahul Gandhi wrote in the letter that the Speaker's action “goes against the very tenets of parliamentary democracy.”
"I request that the remarks expunged from the proceedings be restored," he added.
Several parts of Rahul Gandhi's speech, including his attacks on the BJP over the NEET row and Agnipath scheme, were expunged from the records of the Parliament. His remarks on Hinduism, which prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rare intervention, were also expunged.
Earlier today, in his first reaction to the Speaker's action, Rahul Gandhi said "the truth can't be expunged".
"In Modi ji's world, truth can be expunged. But in reality, the truth can't be expunged. I said what I had to say, that is the truth. They can expunge as much as they want. Truth is truth," Rahul Gandhi told reporters before entering the Lok Sabha.
