Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged he was not being allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha, minutes after Speaker Om Birla sought to obliquely reprimand him for his conduct that was not specified but termed “not up to the high standards of this House”.

“Several instances have come to my notice in which the conduct of members is not up to the high standards of this House. This House has seen father-daughter, mother-daughter and husband-wife as members. In this context, I expect that the leader of the Opposition behaves in the House in line with Rule 349, which is according to the dignity and prestige of this House,” Birla told the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour.

Rule 349 lists several points regarding the conduct of MPs. One of them states that MPs “shall not sit or stand with back towards the Chair” and “shall not pass between the Chair while entering or leaving the House, and also when taking or leaving one’s seat”.

Rahul was in his seat but had walked into the House minutes earlier. It was not clear why the Speaker took exception to his behaviour. Rahul was on his feet urging the Chair to allow him to speak but Birla adjourned the House for an hour till 2pm and left.

“After he (Speaker) said, I said that look, as LoP let me speak, but he didn’t say anything and he just ran away. I don’t understand what is going on. This is no way to run the House,” Rahul told reporters outside the House. “He said something unsubstantiated about me. I wanted to speak but he adjourned the House, there was no need,” the Congress MP added.

Rahul said there was a convention to allow the leader of the Opposition to speak but it was being denied to him. “Whenever I stand up, I am not allowed to speak. What we want to say we are not allowed to say,” he said.

On the Speaker seeking to reprimand him for his “undignified conduct” in the House, Rahul said: “I did nothing. I was sitting quietly. I did not say a word. I have not been allowed to speak for seven-eight days. This is a new tactic. There is no place for the Opposition.”

As the Speaker’s office did not reveal the violations committed by Rahul, BJP social media head Amit Malviya, in a post on X, slammed him for his “unparliamentary behaviour”, attaching two videos to buttress his charge.

The first video was of what the Speaker said in the House, and in the second, Rahul is seen playfully squeezing the cheeks of his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Wayanad MP, seated in the House. It was not clear if the video was of Wednesday or from a previous date and Malviya, too, did not clarify. Rahul is seen walking up to his sister’s seat and squeezing her cheeks, apparently to draw her attention.

“It is disgraceful that the Lok Sabha Speaker has to remind Rahul Gandhi, the leader of Opposition, about basic decorum. The fact that Congress has imposed this puerile man upon us is truly unfortunate,” Malviya said in his post.