Rahul gets LS Secretariat notice over ‘breach of privilege’

Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has received a notice from Lok Sabha Secretariat seeking his response to a privilege notices by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey over his speech in Parliament during which he targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Adani Group issue.

Sources said the Congress leader has been given time till February 15 to respond to the notice seeking his side of the story to enable Speaker Om Birla to decide whether the matter referred to the Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha.

Eighteen remarks of Rahul, which he made during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, were expunged by the Speaker earlier, as he accused Modi of helping the Adani Group, which is now facing allegations of stock manipulation and fraud.

Also read | Parliament will perish sans freedom of speech: Congress on expunction of Kharge, Rahul's remarks

The 52-minute speech in Lok Sabha on February 7 saw Rahul alleging that Adani Group's rise happened after the Modi government assumed power in 2014.

However, BJP was not impressed with this and its MP Nishikant Dubey submitted a 'breach of privilege' notice against Rahul accusing him of making "unverified, incriminatory and defamatory" statements against Modi while Congress claimed "censorship" over the expunction of remarks.

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

Besides submitting a notice, Joshi had also raised the issue in Lok Sabha and sought action against Rahul.