New Delhi: A heated exchange erupted in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday when senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad demanded that Congress General Secretary and MP from Alapuzha, K.C. Venugopal’s speech be struck off the record.
Prasad argued that Venugopal, being a petitioner in a pending Supreme Court case on the appointment of Election Commissioners, had “no moral right” to speak on the same subject in Parliament.
Responding to the objection, Lok Sabha Chair Krishna Prasad Tenneti assured the House that the records would be examined and appropriate action taken, setting the stage for a possible precedent in Parliamentary practice.
Prasad’s intervention came during a debate on electoral reforms, where he accused the opposition of questioning the credibility of the Election Commission only when it faced defeat. “When the opposition loses elections, it immediately starts questioning the credibility of the Election Commission and the entire electoral process. If the people of India are not voting for you, what can we do?” he said, drawing loud cheers from the Treasury benches.
Taking a swipe at the Congress’ poor performance in the recent Bihar Assembly elections, the Patna Sahib MP added, “Despite massive rallies by the Congress and its leaders shouting ‘SIR’ (Special Investigation Report) from rooftops, the people of Bihar gave them only five seats. The public sees the developmental work done by the BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and votes for us. That is the reality.”
Venugopal had earlier delivered a scathing attack on the government over the SIR, the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner, and alleged “vote chori”.
But Prasad insisted Venugopal’s remarks should not stand. “A person who has approached the Supreme Court on the same subject has no moral right to speak on the floor of this House. I request the Chair to expunge his entire speech from the record,” he declared.
The confrontation underscored the deepening divide between the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc over electoral reforms and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. Contentious provisions — including legal immunity for Election Commissioners and the composition of the selection committee — remain flashpoints in the ongoing debate.
The Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision on whether K.C. Venugopal’s remarks will remain in the record is expected to carry significant weight, given his dual role as a parliamentarian and petitioner in the Supreme Court on the very issue under discussion.
(IANS)
