Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday suggested to the leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, that he should read the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure again. The advice came shortly after Gandhi mentioned the names of individuals who were not Lok Sabha members in his speech on the Union Budget.
“You are Leader of the Opposition. I expect you to first read all the rules of procedure at least one more time,” Birla said.
Birla repeatedly reminded Rahul Gandhi about the rules of procedure as the latter did not allow Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to clarify certain points.
“If the prime minister and the ministers yield to our request when we raise our hand to speak, we will yield every time they ask us to yield,” Gandhi said.
Discussing the Union Budget 2024 in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi compared the situation to the Mahabharata and criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Union Budget. He claimed there was a climate of fear in the country.
The LoP criticised PM Modi, stating that farmers, workers, and young people in the country were scared.
“In the last speech, I spoke about some religious concepts. Shivji's concept and concept of Ahinsa is that the trishool is placed behind the back and is not held in the hand. I spoke about the snake on Shivji's neck and I also said how all religions in our country proposed the idea of non-violence…The idea of the Abhay Mudra is that transmits this motion of Ahinsa and affection and fearlessness to everybody else. There is an atmosphere of fear, dar ka mahool hai Hindustan main. My friends are smiling but they are also scared. Budget par hi bol raha hu sir. Sir, you see the problem in the BJP: only one man is allowed to dream of being the prime minister. If the defence minister decides he wants to be prime minister, there is a big problem--there is fear. So there is fear in the country. The question I was asking myself was: Why is this fear spreading so deeply? Why is it that my friends in the BJP are terrified, the ministers are terrified, the farmers of India are terrified, and workers and youngsters are terrified,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“In the last speech, I spoke about some religious concepts. Shivji's concept and concept of Ahinsa is that the trishool is placed behind the back and is not held in the hand. I spoke about the snake on Shivji's neck and I also said how all religions in our country proposed the idea of non-violence…The idea of the Abhay Mudra is that transmits this motion of Ahinsa and affection and fearlessness to everybody else. There is an atmosphere of fear, dar ka mahool hai Hindustan main. My friends are smiling but they are also scared. Budget par hi bol raha hu sir. Sir, you see the problem in the BJP: only one man is allowed to dream of being the prime minister. If the defence minister decides he wants to be prime minister, there is a big problem--there is fear. So there is fear in the country. The question I was asking myself was: Why is this fear spreading so deeply? Why is it that my friends in the BJP are terrified, the ministers are terrified, the farmers of India are terrified, and workers and youngsters are terrified,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Gandhi also criticised the PM for prominently using the lotus symbol and claimed that a new kind of Chakravyuh was created.
"Thousands of years ago, in Kurukshetra, six people trapped Abhimanyu in a 'Chakravyuh' and killed him. I did some research and discovered that 'Chakravyuh' is also known as ‘Padmavuyh’ – which means 'Lotus formation'. Chakravyuh' is in the shape of a Lotus. In the 21st century, a new 'Chakravyuh' has been formed - that too in the form of a Lotus. The Prime Minister wears its symbol on his chest. What was done with Abhimanyu, is being down with India - the youth, farmers, women, small and medium businesses. Abhimanyu was killed by six people. Today, too there are six people in the centre of 'Chakravyuh'. Six people control India today too – Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat, Ajit Doval, Ambani and Adani," he added.