Modi-led NDA & Oppn threw LS rulebook at each other during Rahul’s speech. A look at rules they cited

Modi-led NDA & Oppn threw LS rulebook at each other during Rahul’s speech. A look at rules they cited

New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s debut speech as Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha sparked fiery exchanges between the BJP-led NDA and opposition benches Monday. Not just Speaker Om Birla, but Union ministers Amit Shah and Bhupendra Yadav, and MPs including BJP’s Nishikant Dubey, the Congress’s Hibi Eden, and TMC’s Saugata Ray cited the Lok Sabha rulebook as they countered one another over Rahul’s charges against the ruling dispensation.

The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha was quoted several times by both the treasury and opposition benches. ThePrint takes a look at the rules that were invoked during these heated exchanges, and what they say:

Rule 359

There was uproar in the treasury benches as Rahul held up an image of Hindu god Shiva to criticise the Modi government over what he described as a “full-scale assault on the idea of India and the Constitution, and on those who defended it”. To this, Speaker Om Birla quoted Rule 359 (xvi) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, which states that while the House is sitting, a member shall not display flags, emblems or any exhibits. Birla reiterated it multiple times as the Rae Bareli MP continued to display the image during his speech.

Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav meanwhile quoted Rule 359 (xii) — which states that an MP shall not sit or stand with their back towards the Chair — alleging that Rahul, while speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, had his back to the Speaker and was looking at the opposition benches.

Rule 352

Yadav also invoked Rule 352 (ii), which states that members should refrain from making personal allegations, questioning the motives, or challenging the integrity of any other House member unless it is absolutely necessary for the debate and directly relevant to the matter being discussed. The BJP minister claimed that Rahul has accused the whole Hindu community of being violent.

This was later countered by TMC MP Saugata Ray with additional sub section (vii) of Rule 352 which states that an MP while speaking in Parliament cannot utter treasonable, seditious or defamatory words. Ray added that the LoP did not use any derogatory remarks against Shiva and merely showed an image of the deity, hence there was no rule violation.

Rule 356

When Rahul again showed the image while accusing the BJP of attacking minorities, Bhupendra Yadav invoked rule 356 (ii), which allows the Speaker to instruct a member to stop speaking after they draw the House’s attention to the member who “persists in irrelevance or in tedious repetition either in one’s own arguments or of the arguments used by other members in debate”.

Rule 115

Accusing Rahul of making unsubstantiated allegations, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh demanded that the Rae Bareli MP authenticate his claims on the Agniveer scheme and MSP to farmers.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey joined them and cited Rule 115 (1) and (2) of Directions by the Speaker under the rules of procedure, which state that if a member wishes to highlight a mistake or inaccuracy in a statement made by a minister or another member, they must first write to the Speaker, detailing the specifics of the error and seek permission to address the matter in the House. Additionally, the member may present any evidence they may have in support of the allegation.

Later, Shah and Chouhan reiterated the demand that Rahul prove his allegations after the Congress MP said BJP had called farmers “terrorists” and did not give them MSP.

Rule 349

Congress MP from Kerala Hibi Eden meanwhile used the opportunity to invoke Rule 349 (ii), which states that a member shall not interrupt any other member while speaking by disorderly expression, or noises, or in any other disorderly manner. This came after environment minister Yadav interrupted Rahul to cite Rule 356.

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)