‘Whenever there is discussion, he seems to be abroad’: Amit Shah slams Rahul Gandhi over attendance in Lok Sabha | India News

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Dr Amit Shah On Wednesday, the opposition leader launched a fierce attack Rahul Gandhi During the debate on the opposition’s motion to remove Speaker Om Birla in the Lok Sabha, the Congress accused the leader of poor attendance and spread misinformation about not being allowed to speak in the House.Amit Shah said Rahul Gandhi’s absence from parliamentary proceedings coincided with several foreign visits, claiming that the Congress leader was often abroad during important sessions like the budget debate.

“Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is a senior Congress leader and is often active in public life. During Lok Sabha sessions, major party events and elections are held, and senior leaders naturally interact with people and express their views. This is normal and has happened to many leaders, not just Rahul ji. But the question is, if he is absent from the House, where has he been? He is on a foreign tour, Germany, England, Malaysia, Winter 2020, Winter 200000000000000000000000000000-1011-2018 Other countries, for a total of 60 days. It is mere coincidence that these visits coincided with the budget session. He seems to be abroad whenever the budget is discussed. He then complained that he was not allowed to speak. How will he speak from abroad? There are no video-conferencing facilities; Otherwise, he could have participated from a distance… Should I even comment on the conduct of the opposition? For example, when the Prime Minister was sitting on the Treasury Bench, some opposition members ran up and hugged him, never before. It has never happened that opposition party members have blown kisses or winked at members of the ruling party. To be honest, I hesitate to even talk about it.”Amit Shah said data from previous Lok Sabhas showed that Rahul Gandhi’s attendance was consistently lower than the national average.“In the 17th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 51%. The national average was 66%. In the 16th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 52%. The national average was 80%. In the 15th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 43%. The national average was 76%,” Amit Shah said while addressing the House.He also accused Rahul Gandhi of failing to attend several important parliamentary discussions in the previous term.“…In the 16th Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi did not participate in the vote of thanks to the President in 2014, 2015, 2017 or 2018. He also did not participate in any discussion on the Union Budget in the 16th Lok Sabha. In fact,… he did not participate in the discussion of any government bill. In the 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th and 21st sessions he did not participate in the discussion of the President’s address. In the 19th, 20th, 22nd and 23rd sessions, he did not participate in the deliberations on the Union Budget and, except for one bill, he did not participate in the deliberations of any other legislature. In the 18th Lok Sabha, he did not participate in the discussion of the Union Budget… After four decades, it is unfortunate that his party has brought a motion that questions the integrity of the Speaker, who has always upheld the dignity of the House.”The Opposition’s motion to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was later rejected by a voice vote in the House, effectively defeating the no-confidence motion.Amit Shah described the action against the Speaker as unprecedented in recent decades and said such action undermines parliamentary tradition.“This is not normal, after almost 4 decades a no-confidence motion has been brought against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. It is unfortunate for parliamentary politics and this House,” said Amit Shah.Defending the Speaker’s role, the Home Minister said questioning the Speaker’s office undermines the credibility of India’s democratic institutions.“I would like to inform the entire House that when the present Speaker was appointed, the leaders of both sides of the House together took him to the chair. This shows that both the ruling party and the opposition should provide a free and fair environment for the Speaker to discharge his duties and support him in the discharge of that duty. Today, while disagreement with the Speaker’s decision can be expressed, Lok Sabha rules consider the Speaker’s decision as final. But contrary to this tradition, the opposition has questioned the speaker’s integrity.”Amit Shah also criticized Rahul Gandhi for demanding a debate based on his comments in the press conference.“…he had a sudden idea – he had a controversy at his own press conference. It is not a market. This Lok Sabha…from your grandfather to your grandmother to your father, has been the tallest leader in India. No one’s press conference was debated in the Lok Sabha. If he expected his “great press conference”, which was based on lies, to be debated in the House, then Om Birla did a favor by not lowering the standard of the House.“Responding to allegations that opposition leaders were not allowed to speak, Shah said the claims were misleading and pointed to the time allotted to Congress MPs.“The LOP complains that he is not allowed to speak, the LOP’s voice is suppressed. I want to ask him who decides who should speak? The Speaker? No, it is for you to decide. But when there is an opportunity to speak, you are seen in Germany, England. Then he complains…how much did the Congress MPs not speak in the Lok Sabha for 157 hours and 55 minutes? Why did you not speak in the Lok Sabha. No Speaker can stop you? Misinformation is being spread to malign the Lok Sabha.”The home minister said parliamentary rules give the speaker powers to maintain order in the House, including the power to remove unparliamentary language from official records.“The list of unparliamentary words used in this House was not created in a single term. It has evolved over time, since the beginning of the House’s existence, through the efforts of many eminent persons who have presided over this high office. The Rules of Conduct of the House and the List of Unparliamentary Words are binding on all Members. It cannot be said that these rules do not apply to us. The constitution gave certain rights to the members, but it did not give special privileges to anyone. There is no emergency, and no one has extraordinary powers beyond what the Constitution provides.”He said that the functioning of the Parliament is governed by the established norms and traditions developed over the ages.“Sadan koi mela na hai. Parliament runs according to the rules. Everyone speaks according to the rules. No one has the right to speak in violation of the rules of Parliament. To those who say this is happening because of the BJP, tell them that these rules were not made during our time; they have been going on since Nehruji’s time. I am ready to debate,” said Shah, who has broken the rules of Parliament many times.Emphasizing the importance of trust between the ruling party and the opposition, Amit Shah said the Speaker acts as an impartial guardian of the House.“I will speak later on the questions raised by the opposition today, but first I want to say that the spirit and long-standing tradition of this House is based on mutual trust. The House functions on the basis of trust between the ruling party and the opposition. For both parties, the Speaker of the House acts as an overseer of its functioning. However, the House of Lok Sabha has rules of conduct and these rules are made by itself. Within these rules, we can raise issues related to our rights and so can members of the opposition.”He also referred to the systematic history of agitations against the Speaker, saying such measures are extremely rare.“Under Article 96, when a motion to remove the Speaker is debated, the concerned presiding officer does not preside over the House. What happened before? It has happened thrice before, each time the Congress party was in power. The custom is that the Speaker does not sit in the chair when a motion of no confidence is debated against the Speaker. In all three cases, other officers presided over the House for 14 days. Om Birla is the only speaker who has shown moral courage…”Amit Shah also accused the opposition of trying to undermine parliamentary institutions and said allegations against the Speaker damaged India’s democratic image internationally.“…The world recognizes the strength and dignity of India’s democratic system. When charges are brought against the Speaker of this House, questions are raised not only within the country, but also globally about our democratic process. That is why, generally, no-confidence motions are brought against the Speaker very rarely. Members can approach the Speaker and listen to the discussion of members from both sides of the Speaker. However, a very strange situation has arisen here, when the members go to the chamber, an atmosphere is created as if the speaker’s safety is under threat. Nothing could be sadder than that. What kind of system do they want? The Speaker’s position is placed above party lines and is meant to act as a neutral mediator. However, questions are now being raised about the person entrusted with this mediating role. I will explain why such a question arises later. For 75 years, both Houses of Parliament have deeply strengthened the foundations of our democracy. Today, however, the opposition has raised serious questions about it.”He also alleged that the opposition’s proposal itself has procedural flaws and needs to be rectified before it can be accepted.“…the Speaker’s office has given them an opportunity to correct several errors in their submissions. When they realized they had to make amends, the notice was accepted. This reflects both the high moral ground and importance in the House. The high moral ground is shown by the fact that, although the two no-confidence motions were not in accordance with the rules, Speaker Om Birla gave them an opportunity to duly submit notices. The proposal was not originally in accordance with the rules, and yet the Speaker complied with the justification. Some members have complained that they are not allowed to speak, claiming microphone problems… Anyone who doesn’t obey the rules or maintain discipline will have their microphones turned off, and that’s the way it should be.Amit Shah also criticized the opposition for alleged mistakes in the notice submitted for the proposal.“…Perhaps they presented the proposal half-naked. The whole country and the world know that the year is 2026, yet they mentioned 2025 in the notice. They might have thought the Speaker might reject it. A proper proposal should be attached to the notice, but they did not. Once this was brought to their notice, they withdrew the notice and a second notice was submitted. Regarding the second notification other than genuine Xerox. As per rules, a member has to submit a notice with original signature. Let us assume that there is an extraordinary situation and the opposition members want to move a no-confidence motion before the Speaker… Parliament will run according to the rules of the Lok Sabha, not according to the rules of any party.”The home minister also rejected allegations that the government suppressed opposition voices, pointing instead to the duration of the state of emergency.“We have never suppressed the voice of the opposition, when the leaders were jailed during the Emergency, the voice of the opposition was suppressed,” he said.