Rahul Gandhi Recieves Notice Over 'Derogatory' Remarks On PM Modi, Asked To Respond By Wednesday

Rahul Gandhi has been requested to submit his response by February 15 for the Lok Sabha Speaker's consideration.

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi.

Source : Twitter/ANI

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has requested a response from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on the breach of privilege notice issued against him by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for "misleading, derogatory, unparliamentary, and incriminatory statements" during debate on the motion of thanks on the President's address, news agency ANI reported.

Rahul Gandhi has been requested to submit his response by February 15 for the Lok Sabha Speaker's consideration.

The communication was sent to Rahul Gandhi on February 10 by the Lok Sabha Secretariat's Privileges and Ethics Branch.

"I am to request you kindly to furnish your reply/comments in the matter by February 15,2023," the letter written by a Lok Sabha official was quoted by ANI in its report.

Rahul Gandhi raised various claims against the government in his Lok Sabha address on February 7 over the Hindenburg-Adani controversy. Dubey said in his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker that the Congress MP made "unverified, incriminatory, and defamatory statements" in violation of the norms.

He claimed Rahul Gandhi made comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi "without giving advance notice to the Speaker and also to the Prime Minister as required under Rule 353".

The communication was sent to Rahul Gandhi on February 10 by the Lok Sabha Secretariat's Privileges and Ethics Branch.

"These statements are misleading, derogatory, indecent, unparliamentary, undignified and incriminatory in nature to the dignity of the House and Prime Minister being a Member of Lok Sabha. Rahul Gandhi, despite making statement in the House that he would provide documentary evidence, has not submitted any duly authenticated document for supporting his statements," Dubey wrote, ANI reported.

"As such, he has made a statement which amounts to misleading of the House in the absence of any documentary evidence besides being a reflection upon the Prime Minister. This conduct is in clear violation of privileges of the House and its members besides being a clear case of contempt of the House," the BJP MP added.

Joshi, who filed a similar letter, stated that Rahul Gandhi's words are "derogatory, indecent, unparliamentary, and undignified" and might be removed by the Speaker.

(With Inputs From ANI)