The Rajya Sabha was postponed immediately after Parliament resumed after a month-long break amid protests.
Leader of the House Piyush Goyal targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in his address over his recent statements in London, sparking intense debate between the Treasury and Opposition benches. Goyal said that one Opposition leader sought to paint the nation in a negative way while overseas.
Goyal asked that Rahul Gandhi appear in the Parliament House and apologise to the members of the house as well as the people of India.
Opposition lawmakers questioned Goyal while Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar stated that everyone has the freedom to express himself in the House.
“India is the mother of democracy, a proud and glorious country,” Goyal told the journalists outside the residence. A famous opposition leader travels to another country and undermines Indian democracy. He has insulted the Indian people and the Parliament. Rahul Gandhi should apologise in Parliament for his remarks. India has free speech, and MPs can speak in Parliament.
Goyal further stated that Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the speaker of the House over his comments where he had stated that opposition voices are being stifled in the Indian parliament.
The union minister said, “Our democracy works on sound principles. He has humiliated the Indian parliament on foreign soil. I strongly condemn the comments he made about our Parliament. Again I will say he should come back and apologise to the House and the Speaker”.
While addressing a lecture at Cambridge University in London , Rahul; Gandhi has said, “Everybody knows and it’s been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy.”
After a month-long break, the second part of the Budget session started on Monday.
The initial half of the Budget session was also disrupted and adjourned many times owing to Opposition protests and demands for a JPC investigation into the Adani problem.
