Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, according to sources, has filed a detailed reply to the notice sent to him by the Lok Sabha Secretariat in connection with a privilege motion moved against him by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.
In the reply running into several pages, he argued that the notice moved by Mr. Dubey is untenable under Lok Sabha rules and procedure, quoting from both the Lok Sabha rule book and Kaul & Shakdhar, which records past precedents.
Mr. Gandhi has argued that “freedom of speech” within the Parliament is of utmost importance asserting that “we can hardly call ourselves a democracy if we can’t raise issues of public importance in Parliament”. He has also dismissed the charges made by Mr. Dubey as “vague and unspecific”.
Earlier, in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla dated February 10 — responding to several of his remarks being expunged — he submitted “evidence”, which include details of the Hindenburg report and newspaper clippings to back his claims.
The motion moved by Mr. Dubey has not yet been admitted. The ball is now in the Speaker’s court whether to admit the motion or not. Once admitted, it will be referred to the Privilege Committee of the Lok Sabha.
