New Delhi: Congress General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh warned that if Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is not allowed to speak on the 2020 standoff with China, the House will be unlikely to function. Congress MP Ramesh said that there is only one issue troubling the opposition in Parliament, and that is that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has been prevented from speaking.
Congress leader Ramesh said that all opposition parties are unanimous that if the Lok Sabha MP is not allowed to speak, the House will be unlikely to function. Congress has raised several issues in Parliament, a major one being MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir on the China standoff in eastern Ladakh. Congress says that Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi was repeatedly prevented from quoting former Army Chief General MM Naravane (Retd.). BJP leaders defended this by saying that this violates House rules and could risk demoralizing the armed forces.
Amid continued disruptions in Parliament, Prime Minister Modi decided not to participate in the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address. Congress leader Ramesh reminded that in June 2004, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not participate in the Motion of Thanks because he was prevented from replying. He said that Manmohan Singh thanked the President twice in 2005.
He said, “I want to remind Prime Minister Modi and the BJP that in June 2004, the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh did not reply to the Motion of Thanks because he was prevented from replying. In 2005, the then Prime Minister Singh thanked the President twice because he was unable to do so in 2004.”
