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'Only yours doesn't work': Lok Sabha Speaker's quip as Rahul Gandhi raises doubt on Venugopal's mic
During the special session of Parliament, KC Venugopal questioned the government's intent behind the proposal for 33% reservation for women in the House.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla joked in Parliament on Thursday as Leader of Opposition in the House, Rahul Gandhi, briefly raised doubts on whether Congress MP KC Venugopal's mic was working.
During the special session of Parliament, Venugopal raised questions on the government's intent behind the proposal for 33% reservation for women in the House and questioned why the move was not implemented in 2024. Follow live updates on Parliament session today.
This is when union Home Minister Amit Shah stood up, objecting to how could the merits of the bill be questioned without it being taken up for discussion.
‘No mic’, says Rahul Gandhi
As the Lok Sabha speaker began to explain the procedure of the House to Venugopal, someone in the Opposition first raised doubts on whether the MP's mic was on.
"Mic hi mute tha (The mic was off)," a leader said, and Rahul Gandhi also pointed to the microphone and said "No mic". This is when the Lok Sabha Speaker quipped: "Chalu hai mic chalu hai, aapka hi band hota hai (The mic is on, only yours doesn't work)."
A clip of this exchange went viral on social media:
Speaker Om Birla's remark appeared to be referring to Rahul Gandhi's earlier allegations that mics are switched off when Opposition leaders speak in Parliament. During his visit to the UK in 2023, Gandhi during an address alleged that the Opposition's voice was stifled in Parliament and said that his mic was switched off many times.
In 2024 too a Congress leader had claimed that Rahul Gandhi's mic was turned off in Parliament which caused a ruckus.
Delimitation concerns, women's quota raked in Parl
The government's three key bills to amend the women's quota law and set up a delimitation commission were introduced in the Lok Sabha amid heavy Opposition. The special session of the Parliament had a rocky start as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Union Home Minister Amit Shah traded barbs with Opposition leaders like Samajwadi MP Akhilesh Yadav and Congress's KC Venugopal, among others.
'The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026', 'The Delimitation Bill, 2026' and 'The Union Territories Laws (Amendment Bill), 2026' were introduced in the House.
Proposals to have the Lok Sabha strength expanded to as much as 850 has sparked delimitation concerns, especially among southern states like Tamil Nadu and Telangana who fear they will lose their strength in the Lok Sabha.
