The entire Opposition walked out of Rajya Sabha during PM Modi's speech, alleging that Leaders of Opposition in both Houses were not allowed to speak. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge later accused the government of 'dark deeds' and silencing them.
Opposition Walks Out of Rajya Sabha During PM's Speech
Raising slogans against the Centre, the entire Opposition on Thursday staged a walkout from Rajya Sabha while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was responding to the Motion of Thanks to the President's address. The Opposition claimed that the Leaders of Opposition (LoP) in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha were not being allowed to speak, prompting them to stage a walkout. "Vipaksha ki awaaz nahi dabegi. Tanashahi nahi chalegi. LoP (Leader of Opposition) ko bolne do. (The opposition's voice can't be suppressed. Dictatorship cannot work. Let the LoP speak)," the Opposition leaders raised slogans in the upper house of the Parliament.
In a quip at the protesting opposition, PM Modi said that LoP Rajya Sabha and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge should be allowed to sit and raise slogans, given the latter's age. "Looking at the age of Kharge, I urge you, the Chairman, to let him sit and sloganeer so that he faces no discomfort. There are young people at the back. So, please permit Kharge to sloganeer even while sitting," the PM said while pausing his speech.
Kharge Slams Centre, Alleges LoPs Being Silenced
After staging the walkout, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Narendra Modi government of committing "dark deeds," including an agreement with the United States while sacrificing farmers' interests. He said the House would have functioned properly if the LoP had been allowed to speak. "For the last four days, we have been seeing that our Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is not being allowed to speak in the House. Their (government's) dark deeds include making an agreement with the US, sacrificing farmers' interests, and bowing down to Trump. We wanted to ask questions about this, including foreign policy, what Trump said, social justice, and unemployment and inflation in the country," Kharge told reporters outside the Parliament.
"All our members were ready to raise these issues one by one. We, all the opposition party members, had decided that if they allowed the Leader of Opposition to speak, we would let the House function and participate in the discussion. But they didn't let him speak. We tried our best, we tried in the morning and also during Zero Hour," he said.
Kharge further alleged that the LoPs of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were not allowed to speak. "When the Prime Minister came, we also appealed to him. Whatever we were doing, we did it according to the rules and without creating a ruckus. But they have decided not to let either of the Leaders of Opposition speak, in either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha," he said.
DMK MP Cites 'Disrespect' to LoPs
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Tiruchi Siva also said that the opposition members staged a walkout because the LoPs were not being respected. "For the past few days, Rahul Gandhi has not been allowed to speak. Today, when the prime minister came to the Rajya Sabha to reply to our LoP, the AICC president (Kharge), such a senior leader, asked him for a few minutes to speak. LoP wanted to raise very valid points. After that, the prime minister could have continued his reply, but no one yielded. We were asking for the opportunity again and again. LoPs are not being respected. So instead of being there, we all staged the walkout," he told reporters.
Context: Row Over Rahul Gandhi's Speech
The opposition, including Congress MPs, have been protesting in the ongoing Parliament session after a massive row erupted after LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak to quote from the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane on the 2020 China standoff. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)