New Delhi: Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, and Giriraj Singh were among the senior BJP MPs who on Monday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent remarks in London claiming threats to Indian democracy. They demanded that the Wayanad MP apologise in Parliament. They also asked that the House speaker take action against him.
"Rahul Gandhi, who is a member of this House, insulted India in London. I demand that his statements should be condemned by all members of this House and he should be asked to apologise before the House": Defence Minister and Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh said as soon as the second part of the Budget session began.
He further remarked that the Congress MP sought foreign intervention in the internal affairs of the country, which should be condemned unequivocally.
Piyush Goyal also raised the demand that Rahul Gandhi offers an apology to the people of the nation and the House.
According to news agency PTI, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi asked where was democracy when fundamental rights were "trampled” (during the Emergency) and where was democracy when an ordinance, duly approved by the Union Cabinet, was torn (by Rahul Gandhi during the UPA government).
Speaker Om Birla said that democracy in India is strong and getting stronger.
"Rahul Gandhi in London said that MPs were not allowed to speak in Parliament. This is an insult to Lok Sabha. The House speaker should take action against him on this statement. A sedition case should be registered against him for insulting our democracy," Giriraj Singh, the Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, remarked, as per ANI.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, dismissed the demands saying: "There is no rule of law and democracy under Modi ji. They are running the country like a dictatorship, and then they talk about democracy."
"We are demanding the constitution of JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) on the Adani stocks issue. When we raise this issue, then mics are switched off and a ruckus erupts in the House," he added, as quoted by ANI.
Both houses of parliament have been adjourned till 2 PM.
During his London visit, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the structures of Indian democracy are under “brutal attack” and that there is a full-scale assault on the institutions of the country. He alleged that microphones in the Lok Sabha were often "silenced" against the Opposition.
"Our mikes are not out of order, they are functioning, but you still can't switch them on. That's happened to me a number of times while I am speaking," the former Congress chief told the UK MPs while addressing a group of UK MPs in the Grand Committee Room within the House of Commons