Lok Sabha Rule gives me right to speak: Rahul to speaker

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge with (left) Rahul Gandhi. File pic/PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has invoked Rule 357, stating that he has the right to respond in Parliament to the "totally baseless" and "unfair charges" hurled at him by senior ministers in the Lok Sabha over his democracy remarks.

In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Gandhi also cited the example of BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, who invoked the Rule to give an explanation regarding Jyotiraditya Scindia's comments on him in Parliament. "I am making such a request again. I am seeking this permission under the conventions of Parliamentary practice, the constitutionally embedded rules of natural justice and Rule 357 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha," he said in his letter to the Speaker.

He said members of the ruling regime have made "scurrilous and defamatory claims against me" both within and outside Parliament.

What the rule says

‘A member may, with the permission of the Speaker, make a personal explanation although there is no question before the House, but in this case no debatable matter may be brought forward, and no debate shall arise.'

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Gandhi's democracy remarks in relation to the BJP-led government have triggered a political row, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil, and the Congress hitting back, citing instances of PM Narenra Modi raising internal politics abroad.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have failed to transact any significant business so far due to the impasse during the second part of the Budget session of Parliament that started on March 13.

357
The rule that allows personal explanation

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