Rahul Gandhi writes to speaker, seeking permission to respond to "scurrilous" allegations by centre

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday again wrote to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla seeking permission to speak in the Lower House to respond to the allegations levelled at him by the Bharatiya Janata Partyled centreAddressing to the Lok Sabah speaker Rahul Gandhi said in the letter I had written to you on March 17 seeking your permission to respond to totally baseless and unfair charges hurled at me by senior ministers in the Lok SabhaI am making such a request again I am seeking this permission under the conventions of Parliamentary practice the constitutionally embedded rules of natural justice and Rule 357 of the Rules and Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha he addedHe said that the Rule 357 of the Rules and Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha allows him to respond to the allegations in the ParliamentCiting Rule 357 Rahul Gandhi stated A member may with the permission of the speaker make a personal explanation although there is no question before the House in this case no debatable matter may be brought forward and no debate shall ariseAlso Read BJP is just a tenant not owner of democracy says CongressHitting out at the ruling regime the Congress leader called the allegations against him as scurrilous and defamatoryThe letter stated Members of the ruling regime have made scurrilous and defamatory claims against me both within and outside Parliament As a result of these allegations and the rules invoked by these individuals it is only appropriate that you kindly me a right to reply as contained in Rule 357 which allows for personal explanationsMeanwhile Rahul Gandhi levelled serious allegations against the Centre during several interactions during his visit to the United KingdomHis remarks have become the latest flashpoint between Congress and the BJP The ruling party has accused him of defaming the country and demanded an apology from the Wayanad MPWhile addressing a lecture at his alma matter Cambridge University in London Rahul Gandhi said Everybody knows and its been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack I am an Opposition leader in India we are navigating that Opposition space The institutional framework which is required for a democracy Parliament free press the judiciary just the idea of mobilisation moving around all are getting constrained So we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracyPreviously during the interaction at the Chatham House in London recently Rahul Gandhi alleged that the microphones of Opposition leaders in Parliament are often silenced He attacked the BJPled government at the Centre and levelled several allegationsThe Congress leader also alleged that various institutions in the country were under threatIt shocked me how successful they have been at capturing the different institutions of our country Press Judiciary Parliament and Election Commission are all under threat and are controlled in one way or the other Rahul Gandhi saidHe also termed the RSS a fundamentalist and fascist organisation alleging that it has captured almost all of Indias institutionsThe second leg of the Budget session has been facing repeated disruptions due to the continued logjam between the ruling party and the Opposition While BJP has demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi the Opposition has stood by their demand for a JPC probe into the Adani issueThe second leg of the Budget session commenced on March 13 and will conclude on April 6This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever