NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged on Saturday that the central government is not allowing discussion in Parliament, days after Rahul Gandhi made similar claims that he wanted to address issues related to the Maha Kumbh Mela and unemployment in the Lower House but was “stopped” from doing so.
The Wayanad MP said the ruling NDA has been “sabotaging” Parliament by ” using different methods not to let the democratic process to function”.
“The (central) government is not allowing discussion in Parliament. They are using different methods not to prevent the democratic process from functioning. It’s sad for us MPs to see. The opposition used to be accused to sabotage the Parliament but it’s new that they themselves sabotage the process,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told news agency PTI on her visit to Wayanad Collectorate.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that Speaker Om Birla made an “unsubstantiated remark” about him before abruptly adjourning the House.
Expressing his frustration, Gandhi accused the Speaker of avoiding his requests.
“I don’t know what is going on. I requested him to let me speak, but he just ran away. This is no way to run the House,” Gandhi said.
“It is a convention that the Leader of Opposition is given time to speak. Whenever I stand up, I am stopped. I did nothing wrong—I was sitting quietly. Here, there is no place for democracy. There is only place for the government,” he added.
Speaker Om Birla, addressing the matter, reminded Gandhi to maintain parliamentary decorum.
“It is expected of you to uphold the high standards of the House. There have been several instances where MPs’ conduct has fallen short of these standards. I expect the Leader of Opposition to follow the rules,” Birla said.
