Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday rejected Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's allegations that he wasn't allowed to speak in the House. In a press conference, BJP MP Sambit Patra defended Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's intervention, saying Gandhi used an unparliamentary word, 'idiot ', in his speech, which was rightly objected to by the Treasury Bench.
Patra added that several MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi, were allowed to participate in the anti-paper leak bill debate and that there was no question of denying the same to Rahul Gandhi.
"At 6 PM today, Rahul Gandhi once again held a press conference and tried to mislead people by distorting the facts. First, he alleged that he was not allowed to speak. I have said this repeatedly: when 45 Members were given an opportunity to speak, why would Rahul Gandhi not be allowed to speak? When Priyanka Vadra was given an opportunity to speak, and she too made several allegations, why would Rahul Gandhi not be allowed to speak? Rahul Gandhi was given a full opportunity to speak, but he could not do so," Patra said.
In his press conference, Gandhi had said, "As you saw today, the leader of the opposition was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha. Multiple times, I asked the Speaker to bring order to the House so that I could speak. Multiple times, Rajnath Singh ji and others were allowed to speak, but I was not allowed to speak," Gandhi said at his press conference.
Earlier in the day, BJP had rejected the allegations that clothes of the protesting women were torn during the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) Parliament march on July 20.
Speaking at a press conference after Lok Sabha erupted in chaos over LoP Rahul Gandhi's speech, BJP MP Sambit Patra said that many Congress leaders in their speeches made the claim, which is baseless.
He said, "Many speakers, particularly Congress leaders, claimed in their speeches yesterday and today that the armed forces tore the clothes of girls. That is simply not true. It is false."
Making an appeal to the public against promoting the claim, Patra added, "I remember that some prominent leaders who are now in the Congress Party, although they were not originally with the party and joined it later, had once claimed that personnel of the armed forces committed rape against women in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East. They do not. To stand in Parliament and say that they tore the clothes of girls is extremely inappropriate. It is a very serious matter."
'No student is an idiot': Patra
Patra also lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for using words like 'idiot' and 'andhbhakt' in the Lok Sabha. Notably, Rahul had classified three categories of people in the House - students (who understand they don't know everything), idiots (who believe they only know everything) and andhbhakt (who believe only one person knows everything).
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Objecting to the categorisation with students in it, Patra said, "none of the students is an idiot or an andhbhakt."
"Time and again, Kiren Rijiju has held up the rule book and pointed out that the word 'idiot' is unparliamentary and cannot be used. Yet, despite this, they continue to disregard the rules and keep repeating the word idiot.," he added.
Patra challenges Rahul Gandhi over Amit Shah's convoy claims
Patra also called out Gandhi for alleging Home Minister Amit Shah arrived with a convoy of 30 vehicles.
"Rahul Gandhi claimed that he saw the Home Minister arriving with a convoy of 30 vehicles. Today, I challenge Rahul Gandhi: come with us and count them. Show us where Amit Shah's convoy had 30 vehicles. Where exactly did his convoy have 30 vehicles? He claims he saw them. Can someone who cannot even sit inside the House for five minutes stand outside and count vehicles? Do you really believe that? Rahul Gandhi cannot sit in the House for even five minutes."