Participating in a discussion on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday told Speaker Om Birla that after his election as the Speaker last week, he had bowed down before Prime Minister Narendra Modi while shaking hands with him.
On the other hand, Mr Gandhi said, Mr Birla stood straight while shaking hands with him on the same occasion.
Home Minister Amit Shah said Mr Gandhi had made a charge against the Speaker.
The Speaker said the Prime Minister is the leader of the House and he is elder to him. He said his culture had taught him that one should bow before elders, and this he followed in personal and public life, while conducting himself as an equal with equals.
Mr Gandhi said after becoming the Leader of the Opposition, he realized he was now two people. He was leader of his party and held the Constitutional position of the Leader of the Opposition, representing all Opposition parties. “I represent all Opposition parties equally,” he said. When Mr Hemant Soren or Mr Arvind Kejriwal is in jail, it hurts.
He said “There are now two structures; one is he (Rahul Gandhi) as an individual and one is the Leader of the Opposition. As individual, I might have likes and dislikes but I as Leader of Opposition have to suppress them, reduce them and say 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.”
Mr Gandhi said that whatever the Speaker says fundamentally defines Indian Democracy. “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,” he said.
“Now Speaker Sir, why am I 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 then I walked to your chair,” he said.
He said there were two people sitting on the chair. “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 said.
Speaker Om Birla responded to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, saying his “Sanskriti, sanskar” tell him that he should bow to elders and treat those younger to him in an appropriate 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),” Mr Birla said, referring to a cultural norm of showing respect to elders.
The Congress leader said “I respect your words, but in this House, no one is bigger than the Speaker, you should not bend before anyone.” Mr Gandhi said that he, along with the entire Opposition, bowed down to the Speaker.