No unparliamentary words used, says Adhir Ranjan on Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha speech "expunged"

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the Lok Sabha. Pic/PTI

Reacting to parts of Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha speech being "expunged", Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary on Thursday said that the latter did not use any unparliamentary word in the House, reported news agency ANI.

"If a word is unparliamentary there is a provision to remove it. I don't think so Rahul Gandhi has used any unparliamentary words...Rahul Gandhi said that Bharat Mata is being humiliated... I have taken up this issue with the Lok Sabha Speaker, and he has assured me that he will look into it...," said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary.

Chowdhary said that it is the right of every citizen to say 'Bharat Mata'.

"Saying 'Bharat Mata' is the right of every citizen. But we need to see if he pronounced any unparliamentary word that is being taken off the record. Rahul Gandhi said that 'Bharat Mata' is being humiliated. He simply kept his viewpoints," said Chowdhary.

Reacting to parts of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's speech being "expunged" in Lok Sabha yesterday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said that "Sansad TV is not under Speaker's and BJP government's control", therefore, he and his party is not aware of it.

While speaking to the reporters, Pralhad Joshi said," Sansad TV is not under Speaker's control and not even under our control. So we don't know what happened. If anything unparliamentary is said it is expunged and it has been an old practice. This is nothing new."

In a scathing attack in Lok Sabha on the ruling BJP on the Manipur situation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged they murdered India in Manipur and were traitors, not patriots.

Rahul Gandhi, who was the first speaker as the no-confidence debate resumed on Wednesday in the House, also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over ethnic violence in Manipur.

Speaking on Gandhi's 'deshdrohi' (traitor) remark against the government, Chowdhary said, "If a word is unparliamentary there is a provision to remove it. I have drawn the speaker's attention towards the words which were declared 'unparliamentary'. There are words which I do not think should have been removed. He has assured me that it will be reconsidered".

Significantly, there are words like 'deshdrohi' (traitor), 'tanashah' (dictator), etc were deemed 'unparliamentary' by the government in 2022. And the usage of such words was banned in the parliament.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the Lok Sabha on Thursday in response to the Opposition's no-confidence motion against the NDA government.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh confirming the PM's presence at the Parliament on Wednesday, said, â¿¿The PM will be present in the House on Thursday to reply to the no-confidence motion."

The no-confidence motion was brought by the I.N.D.I.A. delegation on July 26 while seeking an elaborate discussion on Manipur ethnic violence and a statement from the Prime Minister on the same.

However, the Modi-government won't lose the vote as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies have a majority in the Lok Sabha.

Any Lok Sabha MP, who has the support of 50 colleagues, can, at any point in time, introduce a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers. Thereafter, a discussion on the motion takes place. MPs who support the motion highlight the government's shortcomings, and the Treasury Benches respond to the issues they raise. Ultimately, voting takes place and if the motion is successful, the government is forced to vacate the office.

Notably, the NDA has a commendable majority with a number of 331 MPs out of which the BJP has 303 MPs while the combined strength of the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A is 144. The numbers of unaligned parties' MPs are 70 in the Lower House.

This is the second time Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing a no-confidence motion.

(ANI)