Congress MP and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday, July 2, said that everything can be expunged in the world of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but not in reality. His remarks came after a significant portion of his speech in the Lower House was deleted by the Chair apparently because of uncorroborated facts and statements based on unverified information.
“Truth can be expunged in PM Modi’s world, but in reality, it can’t be expunged,” the Congress MP told the reporters at the Parliament complex. He further added, “Whatever I said was true. It’s up to them to expunge it. They can expunge as much as they want but this won’t change the truth.”
Congress MP also dashed off a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, raising objections to the expunction of portions of his speech. “Taking off from records my considered remarks goes against the very tenets of Parliamentary democracy,”
Rahul wrote in the letter to the Speaker while also calling for the restoration of the portions of the speech that have been deleted from House proceedings. On July 1, Rahul in his maiden address as the Leader of Opposition was at his fiery best as he stepped up the heat on BJP-led NDA government, provoking an unprecedented response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He assailed the government on multiple issues ranging from Agniveers to Manipur horror to NEET. His remarks on Hindus and accusing the ruling party of dividing people on communal lines and spreading hatred received loud and strong protests from the treasury benches.
Among the portions of Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha speech that got expunged included his comments on Hindus and references to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), his remarks on industrialists Adani and Ambani and also claims that Agniveer was imposed on the Army by Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
In his about 100-minute speech as LoP, the Congress MP trained guns on the Union government on multiple issues from Agniveer to Manipur crisis, NEET issue and lastly also offered the Opposition’s support to the government in handling issues of national interests.