New Delhi: Massive uproar erupted in the Lok Sabha on Day 2 of the debate on the paper leak bill on Wednesday, with the Opposition and Treasury benches resorting to noisy altercations, triggered by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s ‘unparliamentary’ language.
The chaos erupted over Rahul Gandhi recounting his conversations with a student from the ‘Chhatron ki goonj’ — a pan-India Congress campaign against the paper leaks — and terming those not listening to the students as “idiots”.
As Gandhi kept reiterating ‘idiot’ and ‘andhbhakt’ jibes, citing his candid conversations with the girl student, the ruling party members objected to the use of unparliamentary language.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stood up to counter Rahul Gandhi and cited the rulebook to admonish the Leader of Opposition, stating that the use of such objectionable words was beyond parliamentary norms. He also urged the Speaker to expunge the unparliamentary remarks.
Gandhi’s ‘idiot’ comment drew strong protest from the Treasury Benches, to which he said, “I did not name anyone from the government.”
“The idiot is trying to pretend that he is God,” the Congress MP further said, triggering loud uproar and strong protests from the Treasury Benches.
As the ruling and Opposition members resorted to sloganeering and verbal altercation over Gandhi’s objectionable jibes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also intervened and advised the members to refrain from name-calling and engage in constructive debate on the crucial bill.
As the efforts to defuse the situation failed, Speaker Om Birla also urged the LoP to conform to the rules and regulations of the House and desist from making conjectures and baseless allegations.
Congress MP demanded that the Speaker bring the House in order before he continued his arguments on the bill, which could have a bearing on the future of lakhs of students.
Gandhi, resuming his speech, launched an attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing it of spoiling the country’s education system. He also raised questions over the use of pellet guns on protesters in the national capital and questioned, “Who ordered firing on the students?”
Following the fresh intense uproar and slogan-shouting from both sides, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2.30 p.m.
(IANS)
