Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday mounted a strong defence of her brother Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha after parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju sought to mock the leader of the Opposition as “irresponsible” and suggested that she would have been a better choice for the post.
“There is only one person in this country who has not bowed before them in the past 12 years — that is the leader of the Opposition. He stands in this House and speaks the truth without hesitation… and the truths he speaks are not acceptable to them,” Priyanka told the House in the absence of Rahul.
Priyanka intervened during a discussion on an Opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla that led to a fresh confrontation between the Opposition and the Treasury benches. The Opposition accused the government of curbing Rahul’s freedom to speak in order to shield the Prime Minister, while the Treasury benches hit back by accusing Rahul of repeatedly disregarding parliamentary rules and decorum.
The motion will be voted on Wednesday and is set to be defeated as the Treasury commands the numbers in the House.
The Wayanad MP’s response came after Rijiju, in what appeared to be an attempt to drive a wedge between the siblings, took a swipe at Rahul. “See, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is smiling. If they had made her the leader of the Opposition, their performance could have been better. At least she attends Parliament and listens to the discussions. The LoP doesn’t even listen,” Rijiju said, alleging that Rahul is frequently absent from the proceedings.
The discussion was initiated by the Congress deputy leader in the House, Gaurav Gogoi, who justified the motion as an attempt by the Opposition to “protect the dignity of the House”, while insisting that it was not directed personally against Birla.
“The Speaker is not the voice of the government but the custodian of the rights of the entire House,” Gogoi said.
Gogoi alleged that Rahul had been interrupted nearly 20 times when he sought to refer to the memoirs of former army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane to question the government on national security.
“The LoP wanted to say that the political leadership was missing when the military needed instructions from it. The army chief was told ‘do what you deem fit’. A former army chief has written this… Has the government denied it and said what the army chief has written is false?” Gogoi asked.
The Congress leader also targeted the government over the Indo-US trade deal, alleging that Rahul’s microphone had been switched off when he attempted to raise the issue in the House.
“Does the LoP not have the right to ask under what pressure this trade deal, which is against our farmers, has been signed? Is it because of a case in the US state department against a prominent industrialist? Is it because of the name of a senior minister in the declassified files?” Gogoi said.
He further took a swipe at Modi’s strongman image, referring to the US allowing India to purchase Russian oil amid the West Asia conflict. “A foreign country gives permission to buy Russian oil and our leader is silent. How shameful is this? Where is the Vishwaguru, the 56-inch chest?” Gogoi said, questioning why Opposition leaders were allegedly not being allowed to speak on the issue.
Responding to the charges, Rijiju defended Birla and accused the Congress of attempting to undermine democratic institutions at Rahul’s behest. He said that under Rahul’s leadership, the Opposition MPs had resorted to unprecedented ruckus in the House, tearing papers and flinging them at the Chair and climbing on the secretary-general’s podium. “The BJP never resorted to such behaviour while in Opposition,” he claimed.
“The LoP says he doesn’t need the permission of the Speaker to speak. He thinks he is above the House. The Congress is frustrated by repeated rejection by the people in elections,” Rijiju said.
Mahua attacks Birla
Opening the debate for Trinamool, Mahua Moitra launched a scathing attack on Birla, describing the moment as “divine karma”.
“The lady MP who was illegally witch-hunted by this government, wrongly expelled by an ethics committee which had no power to expel, after a motion in which I was not allowed to speak — where the Speaker, in violation of every principle of natural justice, did not allow me to defend myself — today I am opening the debate for my party in a motion of no confidence against that very Speaker,” Moitra said, referring to her expulsion in the alleged cash-for-query case in 2023.
“You can’t run away from karma,” she added.