Home Minister Amit Shah and the Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Wednesday in a heated debate over opposition parties' bid to impeach Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on grounds he favours the ruling party in House proceedings. In a typically fiery speech Shah also echoed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's criticism of Gandhi's "antics".
Shah accused Gandhi – who frequently criticises Speaker for not allowing opposition leaders a chance to speak – of 'all-time low' parliamentary attendance figures and said the Congress MP chose to 'run away' from the House when Birla does, in fact, allot time for him to raise issues.
"LoP (i.e., the Leader of the Opposition) has grievances… that he is not allowed to speak, that his voice is stifled. I would like to ask him, 'who decides speak?' The Speaker? No… you have to decide. But when you have a chance you are in Germany… in England. Then he complains..."
"In the 16th Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's attendance was 52 per cent… the average was 80 per cent. In the 17th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 51 per cent… the average was 66 per cent."
"Congress MPs spoke for 157 hours and 55 minutes in the 18th Lok Sabha. How much did he speak? Why did he not speak? Which Speaker stopped you? Nobody can," Shah declared.
"Misinformation is being spread to defame the Lok Sabha," he said.
Shah also criticised the opposition over its no-confidence motion against Birla. According to the Home Minister, such a move undermined the dignity of the Parliament. He said the BJP, when it was in the opposition, had never attempted a no-confidence vote against the Speaker.
"We worked as a constructive opposition… preserved dignity of the post," he said.
"This is not ordinary. After nearly four decades, a no-confidence motion against a Lok Sabha Speaker... It is unfortunate for parliamentary politics and for this House," he added.
Earlier Rijiju referred to past instances of Gandhi hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, winking at MPs while inside Parliament, and calling Om Birla 'yaar', a Hindi slang term.
"This can never be allowed," he said, "There are many veterans in the party who should have guided him… but they keep complaining Gandhi's mic is switched off to silence him."
The motion against Birla was moved by Congress MP Mohammad Jawed on Tuesday.
Over 50 MPs stood in support triggering the debate. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, in the Chair, said 10 hours had been allotted for the discussion and asked MPs to stick to the resolution. He said the Speaker had been 'generous' with the permissions and procedure for the opposition's motion.
