Rahul says, ‘give me a mic’; Speaker responds, ‘I don’t switch them off'
Congress party alleged that PM has remained silent on the NEET issue, while a conspiracy is being hatched to suppress the voices of opposition leaders.
On the fifth day of the Parliament session, Friday, the Congress accused the ruling BJP-led NDA government of silencing opposition leaders by allegedly switching off their microphones in Parliament.
The Congress party alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained silent on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) issue while a conspiracy is being hatched to suppress the voices of opposition leaders.
“While Narendra Modi remains silent on NEET, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is championing the cause of the youth in the House. However, on such a serious issue, a conspiracy is being executed to suppress the youth’s voice through acts like switching off microphones in Parliament,” the Congress said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The party shared a video of Rahul Gandhi on social media, showing him requesting access to a microphone. Gandhi was calling for a debate on the NEET controversy and pressing for a joint message from both the opposition and the government.
Read: PM Narendra Modi to take big steps to project dominance in the Indian Ocean Region
In response, Speaker Om Birla clarified in the Lok Sabha that he does not switch off MPs’ microphones and has no such control. “The discussion should be on the President’s address. Other matters will not be recorded in the House,” Birla added.
The Congress also alleged that the microphone of its chief, Mallikarjun Kharge, was switched off in the Rajya Sabha when he raised concerns about students suffering from exam paper leaks in the country.
In 2023, Rahul Gandhi had accused the government of deliberately silencing him by similarly switching off his microphone in the Lok Sabha when he was an MP from Kerala’s Wayanad.
His colleague Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was the leader of the Congress party in the lower house, had also written to Speaker Om Birla, alleging that his microphone had been muted for three days during the budget session.