New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, it is his right to speak in the House, but was not being allowed while the people of the government were making their statements.
Gandhi made the remarks to the media after the House witnessed protests by the opposition and was adjourned for the second time in the day.
The Lok Sabha witnessed noisy protests by opposition parties seeking a discussion on Operation Sindoor on the first day of the Monsoon session.
“The question is that the defence minister and their (the BJP) people are allowed to speak, but if someone from the opposition wants to say something, he is not allowed,” Gandhi said.
“I am the Leader of Opposition, it is my right, I am never allowed to speak,” he said, adding that this is a “new approach”.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said he “ran out of the House in a second”.
“The debate will happen if they allow it, but the issue is that the victim states that if the people from the government say something, we should also be given space. We wanted to say two words, but the opposition was not allowed,” he said.
Earlier, after obituary references, opposition members led by the Congress were on their feet as they insisted on a discussion on Operation Sindoor, under which Indian armed forces carried out attacks on Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Speaker Om Birla said he was ready to allow the members to raise all issues, including Operation Sindoor, after Question Hour, the first hour of the day, where members raise questions related to different ministries and departments.
“I will allow you to raise all issues after Question Hour. The House will function only through rules and regulations. It cannot allow sloganeering and raising of placards,” he said.
Birla said if the members give notice, he will allow them to raise all issues and will give enough time to each MP.
Earlier, the House paid tributes to eight former MPs who passed away in the recent past. The House also paid tributes to those who were killed in the terror attack at Pahalgam on April 22 and those killed in a plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12.
The speaker also mentioned the recent successful space mission under which Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returned from the International Space Station after spending 18 days there. He also congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation and Shukla.
Birla said the House will also have a detailed discussion on the space mission during the session.
