Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Monday took a sharp dig at the Centre during the Parliament Budget Session, dismissing claims of “ruckus in the House” and accusing the ruling party of repeatedly targeting the opposition branding them “deshdrohi.” She further took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning restrictions placed on Opposition speeches in the House.Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Moitra said, “There was no ruckus in Parliament. It is unbelievable how the ruling party and the treasury benches, including the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, can say anything about the Opposition.”“Are you telling me India–China relations cannot be referred to in the House? India–Pakistan relations cannot be referred to in the House? India–US relations cannot be referred to in the House?” she asked.She added sarcastically, “What should we talk about? Sit down and do Jai Pradhan Mantri? Is that all we should do in the House?”She alleged that Opposition leaders are routinely branded unpatriotic. “They call us unpatriotic. They call us deshdrohi. They cast aspersions on us and it’s all okay. There is no rule ever stopping that. They can say anything,” she said.The TMC MP alleged that ruling party members are allowed wide latitude while the Opposition is curtailed. “Somebody like Tejasvi Surya can stand up and say anything and it is applauded. And then, when we as the Opposition stand up to say something, our rights are taken away and we are told there is a ruling on it,” she said.Referring to Rule 349, Moitra argued that discussions were well within parliamentary business. “What is in the business of the House today is the President’s Address, and the President talks about everything,” she added.
What led the Parliament ruckus ?
Moitra’s remarks came amid a heated exchange in the Lok Sabha after leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from a report citing excerpts from the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane during the motion of thanks on the President’s Address.Challenging the government’s objections, Rahul asked, “What does it contain which is scaring them so much? If they are not scared, I should be allowed to read on.”Defence minister Rajnath Singh objected to Rahul quoting from an unpublished book, stating it had not been authenticated.“I want that LoP, Lok Sabha, should present before the House the book he is quoting from, because the book he is referring to has not been published,” Singh said.NDA MPs echoed the objection, arguing that parliamentary rules do not permit references to unpublished material.Responding to allegations by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya questioning the Congress’s patriotism, Rahul said he wanted to read from the memoir.“A young colleague over there made an allegation against the Congress Party… because he has raised the issue about our patriotism, our understanding of Indian culture, I’d like to start by reading something,” Rahul said.He added, “And this is from the memoir of Army Chief Naravane. And I’d like you to listen nicely. You will understand exactly who is patriotic, who is not.”Referring to the Doklam standoff, Rahul said, “It will take a little while, so this is about when four Chinese tanks were entering Indian territory. They were taking a ridge in Doklam.”While Rahul maintained that the excerpts appeared in a published magazine article citing Naravane’s memoir, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla ruled that unpublished material could not be read out in the House and denied permission to proceed.Opposition members protested the ruling, demanding that Rahul be allowed to read the excerpts, while treasury bench members insisted House rules barred references to unpublished works.The episode led to sharp verbal exchanges in the Lok Sabha, further escalating tensions during the Budget Session.
