Rahul Gandhi’s Reaction to the Deleted Lok Sabha Speech

Rahul Gandhi reacts to portions of his Lok Sabha speech being expunged, asserting that truth cannot be erased. His comments on various topics drew protests from BJP members, including PM Modi, during the parliamentary debate on the President's address.

In a typical reaction after parts of his first speech as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha were expunged on Monday, Rahul Gandhi of the Congress said on Tuesday that the truth cannot be obliterated.

“In Modi ji’s world, truth can be expunged,” Gandhi said before entering the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Parliament session when reporters asked her about the incident.

The controversy arose when several portions of a speech made by Gandhi during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address were expunged from the official records by the Speaker. According to the report, the deleted parts were critical of Hindus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP-RSS, billionaires Adani and Ambani and the Agniveer Scheme.

Gandhi’s speech which was for about one hour 40 minutes evoked a spirited response from the treasury benches. Modi intervened twice, claiming that Gandhi referred to the entire Hindu community as terrorist. Five, at least five cabinet ministers, including the Home Minister Amit Shah interrupted, the latter of whom said that Mr. Gandhi should apologise for her speech.

As in his speech Gandhi had used citations from different religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to support the message of fearlessness. He brandished photos of religious leaders and quoted them, saying that all religions prohibit fear.

The Congress leader also said that BJP has been carrying out ‘systematic aggression’ on the Constitution and the idea of India. He also talked about the personal problems which he encounters like his legal issues and investigations by the Enforcement Directorate.

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The event has once again brought into focus matters such as freedom of speech in the Parliament and the boundaries of free speech in India. However, more remains to be seen, particularly, how this will affect the ongoing parliamentary session as well as the general political environment.