New Delhi, March 26: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi today said that there was no space for the opposition in India right now.

In an informal interaction with reporters after being denied an opportunity to speak in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said, this was a completely undemocratic way of functioning of the parliament. He pointed out, there is a convention that whenever the Leader of the Opposition rises to speak, he is granted permission by the Speaker. But, he regretted, he was not allowed to speak at least 7-8 times in the recent past.

Even today, Gandhi disclosed that something had been spoken about him and he rose to speak. Despite that, he added, the Speaker did not allow him to speak. He said, this is unprecedented and undemocratic as he is not only the leader of the principal opposition party but also the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.

The senior Congress leader noted that there is no space for the Opposition and the entire space has been grabbed by the government.

Gandhi pointed out, at an earlier occasion when the Prime Minister was speaking about the Kumbh Mela, he wanted to make a point about u employment, then also he was not allowed to speak.

Later about 70 Congress MPs including the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi and Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal met the Speaker and raised the issue of repeated denial of opportunity to speak to the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.