Rahul Gandhi’s maiden speech as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha generated a lot of political heat on Monday with BJP leaders accusing him “of speaking lies, misleading the House and terming the entire Hindu community violent” and the Congress hitting back with counter allegations against the Modi government.
The atmosphere was charged in Rajya Sabha also with BJP members repeatedly objecting to Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks as he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “divisive” speeches in the Lok Sabha campaign.
The two Houses took up the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address with PM Modi slamming Rahul Gandhi during his speech. “Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a very serious matter,” PM Modi said. Home Minister Amit Shah demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi.
While the BJP held a press conference later to denounce Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, Congress also held an evening presser to slam the ruling party at the Centre.
Rahul Gandhi launched a multi-pronged attack on the BJP targeting it over its leaders’ remarks during Lok Sabha campaign, NEET-UG controversy, Agniveer scheme.
As Rahul Gandhi made remarks pertaining to BJP and Hindu community, there was a huge uproar from the treasury benches.
“There has been a systematic and a full-scale assault on the idea of India, the Constitution and on the people who resisted the attack on Constitution. Many of us were personally attacked. Some of the leaders are still in jail. Anyone who resisted the idea of concentration of power and wealth, aggression on poor and Dalits and minorities was crushed. ..I was attacked by the order of Govt of India, by the order of the Prime Minister of India…The most enjoyable part of it was the 55 hours of interrogation by ED…” PM Modi is present in Lok Sabha.
“Abhayamudra is the symbol of Congress…The Abhayamudra is the gesture of fearlessness, is the gesture of reassurance and safety, which dispels fear and accords divine protection and bliss in Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and other Indian religions….All our great men have spoken about non-violence and finishing fear…But, those who call themselves Hindu only talk about violence, hatred, untruth…Aap Hindu ho hi nahi,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi carried an image depicting Lord Shiva to emphasise his point about ending fear. Speaker Om Birla said that displaying images is not allowed in the House and said the manner in which the Congress leader was displaying and then keeping down the image depicting a revered deity is not right.
Home Minister Amit Shah targeted Rahul Gandhi and said connecting violence with any religion is wrong.
“The Leader of Opposition has categorically said that those who call themselves Hindu talk of violence and do violence. He doesn’t know that crores of people proudly call themselves Hindu. Connecting violence with any religion is wrong. He should apologise,” Amit Shah said.
Rahul Gandhi also said the BJP is not the entire Hindu society.
“Narendra Modi is not entire Hindu society. BJP is not entire Hindu society, RSS is not entire society, this is not BJP’s contract,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi also alleged that ministers were scared of greeting him in the presence of PM Modi.
The Prime Minister took a dig at Rahul Gandhi and said democracy has taught him to take the democracy seriously.
“Democracy and the Constitution have taught me that I need to take the Leader of Opposition seriously,” PM Modi said.
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks pertaining to the Agniveer Scheme were countered by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The Congress leader said the opposition was not an enemy of the government and offered full cooperation and support to take the country forward.
Gandhi said he was the leader of the entire opposition and when the opposition leaders like Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal were in jail, it should disturb him.
Apart from Lord Shiva, Rahul Gandhi invoked Prophet Mohammad, Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Lord Budha and Lord Mahavir, saying that he had taken the idea of fearlessness from their teachings.
The Congress leader accused the BJP and RSS of preaching and spreading violence and hatred.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said that the people of Ayodhya had conveyed the message to BJP by defeating its candidate. He said there was anger and resentment among people in Ayodhya as their houses had been demolished and they had not been provided any compensation. The government countered his allegations and said he was not speaking facts.
Gandhi claimed that PM Modi had wanted to contest from Ayodhya but decided against it based on surveys and that his victory margin from Varanasi had dropped.
He alleged that leaders of various opposition parties were targeted, citing his own example that he was slapped with cases, sentenced to two years imprisonment and his house taken away.
“But we are not scared of you…rather you are scared of the Congress,” he said.
He accused the BJP of targeting minorities and said they are patriots and have represented the country in different spheres of life and made it feel proud.
Referring to the NEET paper leak, he said students had lost faith and alleged that the NEET exam was designed to benefit the rich.
Rahul Gandhi also made remarks pertaining to Speaker Om Birla, saying that he had bowed to greet PM Modi during oath-taking.
“There are two structures; one is he (Rahul Gandhi) as an individual and one is the Leader of the Opposition. As individuals, I might have likes and dislikes but I as Leader of Opposition have to suppress them, reduce them and say my the voice of opposition. That is the idea of the democratic system. The people have given me responsibility and that responsibility should overcome my personal likes, dislikes and aspirations. Now Speaker sir why I am saying this and forgive me for saying this but when you were being put on that chair I walked there to help you to walk to the chair and I shook hands with the Prime Minister and you (Om Birla) and them I walked to your chair. You are the final arbiter of the Lok Sabha. You are the final word here. What you say fundamentally defines Indian Democracy. You don’t allow us to speak, you allow us to speak, you allow them to speak, you don’t allow us to speak, all these things define Indian Democracy,” Rahul said.
“There is the Speaker of Lok Sabha and there is Mr Om Birla, when Modi ji went and shook your hand and I went to shook your hand, I noticed something, when I shook your hand, you stand straight and shake hand with me and when Modiji shook the hands you bowed down and shook his hands,” the Congress leader added.
This remark prompted an immediate response from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who accused Rahul Gandhi of disrespecting the chair. “Yeh chair ke samane aroop hai,” the Home Minister said.
The Speaker responded to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, saying his “sanskriti, sanskar” tell him that he should bow to elders and treat those younger to him inappropriate way.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the Leader of the House. Mera sanskar kehta hai ki jo hamse bade hain unse jhuk ke namaskar karo and barabar walo se seedhe khade hoke (My culture teaches me to bow down in front of elders and shake hands with equals by standing straight),” Birla said, referring to a cultural norm of showing respect to elders.
The Congress leader reiterated his respect for the Speaker’s words but maintained his stance on the importance of the Speaker’s role. “I respect your words, but in this House, no one is bigger than the Speaker. Rahul Gandhi said that he, along with the entire Opposition, bowed down to the Speaker.”
“You are the Speaker and you should not bow down before anyone. You are the final arbiter of the Lok Sabha and what you say, that fundamentally defines Indian democracy”, he told the Speaker, adding, “we respect you as the Speaker’.
Assuring full cooperation to the government, Gandhi said, “we are sincerely here to make your work easier as long as you follow the basic principles that we have stated; respect, affection, ahimsa and always standing for truth.”
Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “reign of fear” for 10 years and said that scaring others and spreading fear is against the “spirit of India.”
“Narendra Modi has been running the ‘reign of fear’ for 10 years! By taking control of all the agencies, institutions and media, BJP has only worked to spread fear in every section of the society. Farmers fear black laws, Students are afraid of paper leak, Youth fear unemployment, Small traders fear wrong GST, demonetisation and raids, Patriots fear schemes like Agniveer, People of Manipur fear civil war,” Rahul Gandhi posted on X.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and BJP spokesperson Sudhanshi Trivedi held a joint press conference to denounce Rahul Gandhi’s remarks.
“The position of Leader of Opposition is a very responsible position…Rahul ji has taken up a responsibility for the first time but despite taking up responsibility for the first time, today he has given very irresponsible statement. He said that no compensation is given to the martyrs, there can be no bigger lie than this. Today, when he was giving his speech, the Defence Minister clarified in the House itself that the martyrs get a compensation of Rs 1 crore. He should look at his facts. It is not that Congress has raised questions on the Army for the first time, Congress has always raised such questions on the Army and tried to mislead the country,” Vaishnaw said.
Rijiju said they have made a request to Speaker that if Rahul Gandhi has lied, he should face the rules and regulations of the House
“We have made a request to the Speaker to pass a direction that if we have made an unverified statement then we are ready to take a corrective course. But if the Leader of Opposition has lied in the House then he will have to face the rules and regulations of the House. He (Speaker) has already assured in the House that he will give necessary and appropriate directions in this regard…”
Trivedi said Rahul Gandhi should express regret over his remarks.
“On January 20, 2013, the then Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who was also the Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha at that time, had said in Jaipur that violent activities and training camps are being run by the BJP and the RSS and when he was asked a question on the floor of the House, he expressed regret. So Rahul Gandhi ji, when you were in power, was your Home Minister right or when you are in the opposition, you are right? I think that taking a lesson from Sushil Shinde, at least Rahul Gandhi should express regret over this… Today you are not only insulting the Hindu society but also proving your government a liar,” he said.
The debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address was initiated by BJP member Anurag Thakur in Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha sat late to allow members to express their views. PM Modi will reply to the debate tomorrow.
In his speech in Rajya Sabha, Kharge targeted PM Modi and the ruling BJP on Monday over various issues including the ongoing row over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and arrests of Opposition leaders.
“PM Modi embarrassed India. They used to call the Gamandiya alliance, they used to say if there is Modi, anything is possible. But the arrogance of BJP was broken after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”
Kharge also hit out at PM Modi over his remarks during election rallies against Congress over redistribution of wealth, Mangalsutra, reservation and ‘Mujra’ among others.
He also took a dig at PM Modi’s “ek akela sab pe bhari” remark and said “Ek akela par aaj kitne log bhaari hei, election ne dikha diya ki desh ka samvidhan aur janata sab par bhaari hei.” (Elections proved that Constitution and public weigh over everything).
The Congress chief said that thousands of NEET aspirants were affected “by the paper leak”. He said that the government initially denied any paper leak then later they clarified and accepted that irregularities happened. The LoP also urged to scrap the Agnipath scheme”President has said we will work together. But the words have been confined to just speech and not in action,” he said.
He also criticised the government over arrests of opposition leaders and alleged misuse of central agencies including the Directorate of Enforcement and the Central Bureau of Investigation in an attempt to “silence the opposition.”
“This election witnessed that a major issue was protecting the Constitution. BJP said it will amend the Constitution. But the elections proved that issues keep coming and going but Constitution will thrive, democracy will survive, elections will keep happening and we will also be here,” Kharge said.
“The common people supported the opposition in this fight. They took a major step towards protecting the Constitution,” he added.
The LoP also questioned the relocation of statues of national leaders in the Parliament House complex.”
“There was no meeting or prior consultation. It was done as though in authoritarian rule,” he said. He urged for discussion with the committee that includes LoP, members, and the House Chairman.
However, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar said that it has been done properly and methodically and there should not be criticism for the sake of criticism. He also urged members to visit the new location.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister also objected to Kharge’s criticism and clarified that statues were not kept at just any location but shifted with proper respect and given appropriate space.
Kharge’s remarks relating to the RSS were expunged by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. The debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address started in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Congress leader Pawan Khera addressed a press conference in the evening and accused the BJP of spreading lies on WhatsApp, editing the videos of Rahul Gandhi and making baseless comments about him.
“We were defeated in 2014, we were defeated in 2019 too. We introspected, understood and learnt, but the BJP which got everything and now has started losing in 2024, did not learn any lesson, this has become clear today inside and outside the Parliament,” he said.
“How they ran their business in the last 10 years, by spreading lies on WhatsApp, editing the videos of Rahul Gandhi and making baseless comments about him. It ran for five years and 10 years… the people of this country have stopped it, and the Bharatiya Janata Party could not learn this lesson,” he added.