New Delhi | Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday asked Rahul Gandhi to conduct himself in line with the rules of procedure that members are expected to observe to uphold the dignity of the House, prompting the Leader of Opposition to claim that the remarks against him were "unsubstantiated".
"In this House, father and daughter, mother and daughter, husband and wife have been members. In this context, I expect the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself in accordance with Rule 349 that deals with rules to be observed by members in the House," the Speaker said in the Lok Sabha, adding that MPs conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the high standards and dignity of the House.
Birla did not specify the trigger behind censuring Gandhi, who was present in the House and wanted to speak on some issue but the Speaker adjourned the proceedings after making his point.
However, in a post on X, BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya suggested that the Speaker's remarks were prompted by Rahul Gandhi affectionately cupping the cheeks of his sister and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the proceedings a few days back.
Gandhi later told reporters that he was not being given a chance to speak, alleging that the House was being run in a "non-democratic style". He said Birla had made "unsubstantiated" remarks about him.
"The Speaker just got up and left. He did not allow me to speak a word. He was speaking about me, and I don't know what he said about me, all unsubstantiated.
"I said 'let me speak as you have spoken about me', but he did not say a word and just left. He adjourned the House when there was no need of it," the former Congress president said.
Birla said that several instances have come to his notice where the conduct of members does not conform to Parliament's high standards, adding that it is especially expected of the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself as per the rules.
After Birla's pointed remarks, Congress MPs trooped into his office to lodge their complaint over Gandhi "repeatedly" not being allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha. Their enquiry into the reason behind the Speaker's comments was also futile, a few of them said.
Tagging a video clip, Malviya in his post on X said, "It is disgraceful that the Lok Sabha Speaker has to remind Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, about basic parliamentary decorum. The fact that Congress has imposed this puerile man upon us is truly unfortunate."
The clip of undated proceedings in the Lok Sabha showed Gandhi walking through the aisle, turning to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and cupping her face affectionately, while his party colleague Manickam Tagore was speaking in the House.
Rahul Gandhi was present in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after an absence of a few days.
Though such an expression of intimate brotherly affection from him inside the Lok Sabha is not new, sources said it was televised and that there is a view that it does not go well with Parliament's image of the "temple of democracy", more so when the House is conducting its business.
Replying to queries from reporters in the Parliament House complex, Gandhi said there is a convention that the Leader of Opposition is allowed to speak, but whenever he gets up to speak, he is not allowed to do so.
"So, in what manner is this House being run? We are not being allowed to speak. I have not done anything, I was sitting quietly. I did not speak anything. In the last 7-8 days, I have not been allowed to speak," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
In a democracy, the opposition has a place and the government has its own place but here there is no place for the opposition, he alleged.
Gandhi said he wanted to speak on the Maha Kumbh last week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a statement on it but he was not allowed to speak.
Mumbai | Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said appointing the Leader of Opposition in the state legislative assembly was the prerogative of the Speaker and the government would not interfere in it.
Talking to reporters after the conclusion of the over three-week-long Budget session of the state legislature, he also said the Mahayuti government was working towards ensuring that the state's growth rate speeds up.
In the November 2024 assembly polls, the Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) registered a resounding victory by winning 230 of the 288 assembly seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) managed to bag only 46 seats.
No Leader of Opposition has been appointed so far in the assembly.
Fadnavis said, "The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly will be decided by the speaker. He is not under pressure from the government."
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav said the legislature secretariat gave him in writing that there was no criteria for how many members the opposition party should have in the House to get the post of LoP.
Talking about the business carried out during the session, Fadnavis said the legislature passed 12 bills, including the Maharashtra Mathadi, Hamal and Other Manual Workers (Regulation of Employment and Welfare) (Amendment) Bill to prevent bogus mathadis (head-loaders and porters).
"We are working to ensure the state's growth rate speeds up,'' he said, adding that the row over demand to remove Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's grave and comedian Kunal Kamra's parody song targeting Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were issues for the opposition.
Deputy CM Shinde said common man's welfare was the focus of the Mahayuti government.
"The pace of development will not stop. Maharashtra is an industry-friendly state and was number one in start-ups, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," he said.
"The government is working in a speedy manner by following the 'no reason, only spot decision' ideology. Those who give reasons have been sent home by the people. We have finalised DPRs (detailed project reports) of 50 cities," he said.
"The government does not underestimate the opposition. Instead of speaking on issues in the legislature, the opposition was protesting on the stairs of Vidhan Bhavan complex," Shinde said.
