BJP parliamentarian Nishikant Dubey on Thursday said he had submitted a notice for a “substantive motion” seeking the termination of Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership and his lifelong disqualification from contesting elections “for misleading the nation” in league with anti-India forces.

Dubey, MP from Godda in Jharkhand and considered close to the top BJP leadership, accused the leader of the Opposition of repeatedly making “unsubstantiated allegations” to destabilise the country.

The development comes a day after Rahul castigated Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House, alleging the Indo-US trade deal marked a “wholesale surrender” on his part.

Rahul had also targeted petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri, alleging misconduct and claiming his name figured in the Epstein files.

“I have moved for a substantive motion to be brought against Rahul Gandhi on how he is misleading the nation with the help of forces like (George) Soros (US investor, philanthropist and defender of liberal values), who want to harm the nation,” Dubey told reporters.

Dubey added: “I have requested that Rahul Gandhi’s membership should be terminated and he should be barred for life from contesting elections.”

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju had on Wednesday indicated the government could move a breach of privilege motion against Rahul. However, the Treasury benches appeared to drop the plan as the Lok Sabha’s privileges committee has not yet been constituted.

In parliamentary practice, a substantive motion is considered more consequential than a privilege motion.

According to the authoritative Practice and Procedure of Parliament by M.N. Kaul and S.L. Shakdher, a substantive motion is “a self-contained independent proposal submitted for the approval of the House and drafted in such a manner as to be capable of expressing a decision of the House”.

If admitted by the Speaker, Dubey’s motion will be taken up for discussion and put to vote in the House.

There is precedent for expulsion through such a motion. Ten MPs were expelled in 2005 after the Lok Sabha adopted a substantive motion following an inquiry into a cash-for-query scandal.

The animosity between the Treasury and Opposition benches had sharpened on Tuesday when the Opposition moved a notice seeking the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of running the House in a “blatantly partisanmanner”.

If Dubey’s notice is admitted, it could escalate the confrontation further.

Rahul brushed off the development. “Do they (the BJP) give you some keywords?” he said when asked about Dubey’s move.

In a video later posted on X, he struck a defiant note: “Be it an FIR, a case or a privilege motion — I will fight for the farmers.”

On Thursday, Rijiju shared a video on X alleging that 20 to 25 Congress MPs had forcibly entered the Speaker’s chamber recently, abused him and threatened the PrimeMinister.

Rijiju claimed that senior Congress leaders K.C. Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were present but did not intervene. The video showed a few women MPs gesturing, but the audio was unclear.

Priyanka rejected the charge. “We did not abuse anyone. One or two MPs were agitated. I was sitting quietly and spoke peacefully to the Speaker,” she said.

In his notice, Dubey has accused Rahul of repeatedly defaming the Modi government and attempting to “destabilise the country from within”, alleging links with the Soros Foundation.