Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday, wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla over his expunged speech and says that says that it goes against tenets of parliamentary democracy. Rahul Gandhi on Mindat had accused the leaders of the ruling party of dividing people on communal lines, drawing massive protests from the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi slamming the Congress leader for calling the entire Hindu community violent.
Rahul Gandhi in his letter said
I am writing this in the context of remarks and portions expunged from my speech during discussion on Motion of Thanks on the President ' Address es I July 2024 . While I Chair demises powers to expunge certain remarks from the proceedings of the House but the stipulation is only those kind of words the nature of which have been specified in Rule 380 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in 1.ok Sabha.
I am however, shocked to note the manner in which considerable portion of my speech have been simply taken off from the proceedings under the garb of expunction.
I am enclosing relevant portions of uncorrected Debates of Lok Sabha dated 2 July. I am constrained to state that the portions expunged do not come under the ambit of Rule 380. What I sought to convey in the House is ground reality. the factual position. Every member of the House who personifies the collective voice of people whom he or she represents has the freedom of speech as enshrined in Article 105(1) of the Constitution of India. It is every member's right to raise people's concerns on the floor of the House.
It is that right and in the exercise of my obligations to the people of the country. that I was exercising yesterday.
Taking off from records my considered remarks go against the very tenets of parliamentary democracy.
In this context, I also wish to draw attention to the speech of Shri Anurag Thakur whose speech was full of allegations. However, surprisingly only one word has been expunged! With due respect to your good self this selective expunction defies logic . I request that the remarks expunged from the proceedings be restored.
During his speech, Gandhi quoted Prophet Muhammad to highlight that the Quran talks about fearlessness. Holding up pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, and Jesus Christ, he referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to underline the importance of fearlessness. He also cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Mahavir to state that all religions and great people of the country have said "daro mat, darao mat (do not be scared, do not scare others)". "Shivji says daro mat, darao mat... talks about ahimsa..."
