'Put Back Expunged Remarks From My Speech': Leader Of Opposition Kharge In Rajya Sabha (Photo on X Congress @INCIndia)
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge today (Wednesday) raised strong objection against the deleting parts of his speech in the Parliament. While speaking at the Rajya Sabha, Mr Kharge lodged a strong objection to the alleged deletion of part of his speech and also raised his concerns about the changes in the meanings if presented in a distorted manner.
Mr Kharge further said that the intention of his speech will be different when it presented in a manner that deletes parts of the speech. The Congress president also demanded the inclusion of his deleted words in the proceedings of the House, asking the Chairman to put back his expunged remarks in the record.
आज कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge ने सदन में उनके भाषण के हिस्सों को हटाए जाने पर घोर आपत्ति दर्ज कराई।
श्री खरगे ने विरोध दर्ज करते हुए कहा कि यदि उनके भाषणों को तोड़-मरोड़ कर पेश किया जाएगा तो अर्थ का अनर्थ होगा।
कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री खरगे ने मांग रखी कि उनके भाषण से जिन… pic.twitter.com/1LOnje5iWV
— Congress (@INCIndia) February 7, 2024
This is not the first time that the opposition has accused the central government of removing its words in the parliament. The Congress had in February 2023 accused the government of censoring its statement from the parliament speech in the lower house.
Congress president Kharge had then written to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar saying that questioning government policies and criticising its activities do not lower the dignity of the House. He also pointed out the constitution guarantee under Article 105 providing freedom of speech for MPs in the Houses, noting that the Article does not have a provision for the authorization of the allegations with documents to make allegations. The Rajya Sabha chairman intervening in the opposition leader’s speech had asked to authenticate the allegations with documents and proof.
The opposition leader had also accused the government of deleting parts of his speech about Prime Minister Modi from the record. He then draw the attention to the critical words used by the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee about the former prime minister P. V. Narasimha Rao which was still in the records.
The congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks had also been removed last year, prompting protests from the opposition against the alleged censorship in the House. However, the latest incident raises concern about the transparency of the proceedings in the Houses.
