Why government dropped plan to move’privilege’ motion against Rahul Gandhi; Kiren Rijiju explains

NEW DELHI: Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju confirmed on Thursday that the government has temporarily shelved its proposed motion against Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi.He further explained the reason behind this shift as being BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s submission of a “substantive motion” demanding the immediate cancellation of Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership.Addressing the ongoing friction between the treasury and the opposition bench, Rijiju said, “The government had earlier decided to move a motion… the way Rahul Gandhi illegally mentioned about a book which was not published and objectionable language was used against the Prime Minister, prompting consideration of issuing a notice on multiple grounds.”Further detailing the government’s decision to let a private member’s motion take the lead in seeking the ultimate parliamentary sanction against the Congress leader, he said, “A substantive motion has been introduced by private member Nishikant Dubey, leading the government to temporarily drop its own proposed motion. After the motion is admitted, a decision will be taken in consultation with the Speaker on whether to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee, the Ethics Committee, or bring it directly before the House for discussion. No final decision has been made yet.”

Speaking on the grounds for the government’s initial displeasure, Rijiju stated that the Ministry was prepared to act following Gandhi’s recent conduct in the House.The push for Gandhi’s expulsion is centred on a scathing letter sent by Nishikant Dubey to Speaker Om Birla. In the letter, Dubey accused the Congress leader of becoming a major part of the “Thuggery gang to de-stabilise the country from within.”Dubey alleged that Gandhi is an active member of the “Ford Foundation” and has links to billionaire George Soros, claiming these entities fund Gandhi’s “lavish foreign travels” to countries like Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.The MP questioned if the LoP was “planning India’s partition for the sake of gaining power.”The motion claims Gandhi has used the floor of the House to “foment public sentiment” against the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, and the Speaker’s office.The flashpoint for this latest row was Gandhi’s use of Four Stars of Destiny, the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. Despite a ruling from the Speaker prohibiting the citation of unpublished literature, Gandhi brandished a copy of the book in Parliament.In a post on X, Dubey shared documents which he described as “accusations” against Rahul Gandhi, whom he referred to as the “ringleader of the tukde-tukde gang.”

“My accusations against Soros, the Ford Foundation, and the ringleader of the “tukde-tukde gang” Rahul Gandhi Ji are these, for which I have sought permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker to debate. Is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha planning India’s partition for the sake of gaining power?” Dubey wrote on ‘X’. The controversy began after Rahul Gandhi alleged the book proves the Prime Minister “abdicated responsibility” during the 2020 India-China standoff.The government maintains the book is still under review by the Ministry of Defence and that quoting it is both illegal and a distortion of facts.