‘TAKING OFF FROM RECORDS MY CONSIDERED OPINION….’: RAHUL GANDHI WRITES TO OM BIRLA OVER REMARKS BEING EXPUNGED

A day after Rahul Gandhi's ‘Hindu’ remark in Lok Sabha created furore, leading to Speaker Om Birla expunging certain aspects of his speech, the Rae Bareli MP today wrote to the Speaker requesting him to restore the expunged portions as it is against the very tenet of parliamentary democracy.

The letter read: "...Shocked to note the manner in which considerable portion of my speech have been simply taken off from the proceedings under the garb of expunction...Taking off from records my considered remarks goes against the very tenets of parliamentary democracy..."

He said the portions expunged from records did not come under the purview of extant rules. "Taking off from records my considered remarks goes against the tenets of Parliamentary democracy," he said in the letter, requesting the Speaker to restore the expunged portions.

"I am writing this in the context of remarks and portions expunged from my speech during discussion on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address on 1 July 2024. The stipulation is only those kinds of words, the nature of which have been specified in Rule 380 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha," he said.

Gandhi also cited specific provisions under parliamentary rulebook that provides immunity to a member in a house.

 

According to the Rule 380 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, it is up to the Speaker’s discretion to expunge any word or expression used in a debate that are considered defamatory, indecent, unparliamentary, or undignified.

Under Rule 381, the expunged words are removed from the official records of Parliament archives. The Rule 381 also states that expunged portions of proceedings will be marked with asterisks, accompanied by a footnote indicating ‘Expunged as ordered by the Chair.’

2024-07-02T07:38:56Z dg43tfdfdgfd