New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote Thursday to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. He claimed he was not allowed to speak freely in the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence. Rahul Gandhi sought the speaker’s intervention, sources said. In his letter, Rahul urged the Speaker to ensure that the right of elected MPs to speak freely in parliamentary panel meetings is protected.
The Congress leader also said the Speaker is the custodian of Parliament. He should ensure that the discussions and presentations in the panel on defence are in consonance with its role and objectives.
Rahul and other members of his party Wednesday walked out of the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence. They alleged that the panel’s time was being wasted in discussing armed forces’ uniform instead of the crucial issue of national security.
Rahul said he was disallowed to speak at the meeting by the panel chairman Jual Oram (BJP). He sought to raise the issues of Chinese aggression and better equipping the soldiers at the border in Ladakh, the sources said.
“It is the right of a member to point out digressions from the agenda and the purpose of the Standing Committee. The Committee is free to disagree with what I say. But the fact that the Chairman does not even permit a member to speak is a sad comment on how the government handles military affairs,” Rahul said in the letter.
“Sir, as Speaker of the Lok Sabha and custodian of the House, I urge you to intervene. You must ensure that the discussion and presentations held in the defence committee are in consonance with the role and objective of the institution and that the right of elected MP’s to speak freely is protected,” the Congress leader wrote.
Rahul said the agenda for discussion at the meet was military uniforms. However, taking into account the current military situation he felt this surprising.
“You are aware that we are currently facing a serious national security challenge on our borders. China has forcibly occupied our territory and martyred 20 of our soldiers. There are many critical matters to discuss at a time like this,” Rahul wrote.
The former Congress chief said he was extremely disturbed to find that the Chief of Defence Staff and the top brass of the Army, Navy and Air Force, who have important matters to deal with, had been asked by the chairman to spend an entire afternoon explaining the colours and different types of uniforms and insignia worn by different ranks in our forces.
“I mentioned our job, as members of the defence committee, was to discuss critical national security matters of a strategic nature. I also indicated that the topic of discussion and nature of presentation did not do justice to the type and level of discussion expected in the committee,” he told the Speaker.
However, Rahul pointed out that he was repeatedly prevented from speaking and the panel chairman said ‘aap nahi bolenge’ (you will not speak).
“I politely requested the chairman a number of times to allow me to complete my intervention. He refused to allow me to do so. To register my protest at being prevented from expressing my views, I had no option but to leave the room,” Rahul added.