New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's remarks on Tuesday against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani were expunged from records by the LS Speaker on Wednesday. As per reports, Speaker Om Birla notified the House of the expungement at around noon on Wednesday, on the ground that the Congress leader had not substantiated his allegations.
This comes after Parliamentary Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi demanded, earlier in the day, that action be taken against Gandhi and backed expunging certain 'objectionable' demands. Picking up the issue as soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, Joshi observed that under parliamentary rules, a notice has to be served if any LS member wishes to level allegations against anyone.
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"The Congress leader has made some remarks yesterday. Those were very objectionable and baseless allegations. Those should be expunged and action should be taken against him" Joshi told Speaker Om Birla. He further noted that a privilege motion will be moved against Gandhi.
In an unprecedented attack, Gandhi on Tuesday alleged a link between Prime Minister Modi and Gautam Adani, furnishing pictures of the duo inside a private aircraft, as well the PM entering an airplane bearing the Adani logo. Observing that the Adani conglomerate had secured contracts in various business areas including but not limited to roadways, ports, airports, and infrastructure development, Gandhi questioned the meteoric rise - also posing a query as to how much money the Adani group has funnelled into the rulling BJP throughout the last 20 years.
Meanwhile, Congress communications in-charge and MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted out, saying, "With the expunging of @RahulGandhi's remarks on PM linked Adani MahaMegaScam, deMOcracy was cremated in the Lok Sabha. OM Shanti".
Meanwhile, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Prime Minister's thoughts were 'pure like the Ganga' and that nothing can stain it. "The PM's thoughts are as pure as the Ganga. No one can stain his truth and dedication" the former stated.
Taking to task Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Prime Minister, he noted that the Opposition was raising issues which were unrelated, rather than introducing issues with schemes put out by the Centre. "Before 2014, people saw news only about corruption and had lost hope in the political leaders, but things have changed now. The Opposition cannot mislead the citizens anymore," he also said.
