Portions of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s speech criticising the Narendra Modi government’s actions in violence-hit Manipur were on Wednesday expunged from the Lok Sabha records, The Indian Express reported.
His remarks pertaining to “Bharat Mata [Mother India]” and a reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre were among those removed by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The Congress leader made these remarks in his first speech in the Lower House after being reinstated as the MP from Wayanad. He was reinstated three days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a criminal defamation case.
Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit the Northeastern state as he does not consider it to be part of India. “I used the word ‘Manipur’, but the truth of today is that Manipur does not exist anymore,” he added. “You have divided Manipur into two parts.”
He accused the BJP of “sprinkling kerosene everywhere and putting the country on fire”, and referred to last week’s communal violence in Haryana’s Nuh and Gurugram districts that left six persons dead.
After parts of Gandhi’s speech were expunged from the record, the Congress’ leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury described the decision as “gross injustice” and accused the government of denigrating Parliament.
He said he would meet Speaker Om Birla on Thursday and ask him restore…
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