Can we expect discourse without acrimony?
The prediction is pending, although at the start of the session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the appropriate words to show they wanted consensus.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday congratulated newly-elected Speaker Om Birla and said that he was confident that the latter will allow the Opposition to represent the voice of the people of India in the House.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha after Om Birla’s election to the Speaker’s post for the second time, Gandhi said, “I am confident that you will allow us to represent our voice, allow us to speak, allow us to represent the voice of the people of India.”
The Congress leader asserted that the question is not how efficiently the House is run but how much of India’s voice is being allowed to be heard in this House.
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Addressing the chair, he said ”the idea of silencing the Opposition was non-democratic”, and that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution.
“The idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is a non-democratic idea. This election has shown that the people of India expect the opposition to defend the Constitution, the ‘Samvidhan’ of this country…,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, escorted Birla to the chair of the Speaker after he won the election for the post.
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