A day after the BJP submitted a notice against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha over alleged inaccuracies in his speech, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said any member trying to mislead the House will not get away easily and the “rules will get them”.
Mr Rijiju was referring to a notice submitted in Lok Sabha by BJP member Bansuri Swaraj urging the Speaker to take cognisance of her notice against certain inaccuracies in Mr Gandhi’s speech on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.
“When the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha kept on lying about many things, including facts and figures, a notice was put to the Speaker and we have requested the Speaker to take appropriate action. We are waiting for the action,” Mr Rijiju said in response to questions on the issue.
The minister said rules apply equally to everyone as no member is above the Chair in the House.
“Nobody can expect to escape. There is no special privilege for anyone just because he comes from a privileged family,” Mr Rijiju said.
“If anybody wants to misuse the position in the House to mislead the House, he will not easily get away. Rule will get them,” the Parliamentary Affairs minister said.
After Mr Gandhi’s speech on Monday on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Mr Rijiju accused the Congress leader of making “untruthful” claims about a host of issues, including the Agnipath scheme and the compensation paid to locals in Ayodhya.
Under Direction 115 of the Speaker, a member wishing to point out any mistake or inaccuracy in a statement made by a minister or any other member can, before referring to the matter in the House, write to the Speaker pointing out the particulars of the mistake or the inaccuracy and seek permission to raise the issue.
The member may place before the Speaker such evidence that she or he has in support of the allegation.
The Speaker can bring the matter to the notice of the minister or the member concerned to ascertain the factual position.
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