'Blot on our democracy': Rahul Gandhi writes to Speaker Om Birla; says 'deliberate attempt' to stop him from speaking in House

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla, registering his "strongest protest" on not being allowed to speak on the President's address during the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.Gandhi described this as a "blot on our democracy."On Monday, the treasury benches objected to the Congress MP quoting an excerpt from an unpublished book by General MM Naravane (retired) on the India-China military clashes in Ladakh in June 2020. They argued that House rules prohibit a member from citing a book that has not yet been published. Naravane was the Army Chief at the time. The excerpts were recently published by an online portal.“By long-standing convention, a member who wishes to refer to a document in the House is required to authenticate it and affirm responsibility for its contents. Once this requirement is fulfilled, the Speaker allows the member to quote or refer to the document. Thereafter, it becomes the responsibility of the government to respond, and the role of the Chair stands concluded,” Gandhi wrote in his letter to Birla.The Raebareli MP added that being “prevented” from speaking is not only a violation of this convention but also reflects what he called a “deliberate attempt” to stop him from addressing the House in his capacity as the LoP.“The right of the LoP and of each member to speak is integral to our democracy. The refusal of these basic democratic rights has led to an unprecedented situation. For the first time in parliamentary history, on the behest of the government, the Speaker has been forced to prevent the LoP from speaking on the President’s address. This is a blot on our democracy, against which I register my strongest protest,” he added.Gandhi has alleged that the government is “scared” of what is written in the book. He attempted to speak on the issue on Tuesday as well but was again unable to do so.