BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Thursday announced that he has moved a standing motion in the Lok Sabha against Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of misleading the country. Dubey said the motion sought cancellation of Gandhi’s parliamentary membership and a lifetime ban from contesting elections.
BJP MP seeks cancellation of Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul GandhiSpeaking to news agency PTI outside Parliament, the BJP MP said, “I have moved a motion in the Lok Sabha today against Rahul Gandhi on how he is misleading the country with such power. (George) SorosThose who want to harm the nation.
George Soros is a Hungarian-American billionaire investor and philanthropist, often accused by right-wing organizations worldwide of his support for liberal causes.
Dube’s move comes a day after Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha, in which the Congress MP accused the central government of compromising India’s national interests on trade deals with the Donald Trump-led US.
The BJP has hinted at further actionEarlier, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said BJP members would file a breach of privilege notice against Gandhi “for misleading the House and making baseless statements”.
More Read
Dubey, however, said he chose to take a different step than the privilege notice – a substantive motion, which opens discussions on key issues.
Sources also told HT that the government will not move a privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi but will seek removal of more words and lines from his speech from the record.
Rijiju said, “Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have very clear rules of procedure and conduct. When a member wants to make a serious complaint against another member, you have to give notice and provide proof of the complaint.”
Rahul Gandhi criticized the government’s policiesIn his address, Gandhi outlined global challenges, saying, “You yourself admit that we are facing a global storm that the era of a superpower is over, that geopolitical conflicts are intensifying, and that power and money are being weaponized.”
He claimed that despite acknowledging the reality, the government had allowed the US to “weaponize energy and financial systems in a way that affected Indians”.
He further questioned India’s energy security, saying, “When America says we cannot buy oil from a particular country, it effectively means that our energy security is being externally directed.”
Outside, he said the government should be “shameful” for “compromising India’s interests”.
The comment referred to Donald Trump’s executive order that removed a 25 percent “punitive” tariff on India. In the order, Trump reiterated his demand that India stop buying Russian oil and increase energy purchases from India.
Gandhi also raised concerns about trade, claiming that India’s average tariff has now risen from about 3 percent to 18 percent, while US imports to India are projected to rise from US$46 billion to US$146 billion. He described the situation as “absurd”, arguing that India has committed to increasing imports by nearly US$100 billion a year without getting firm commitments.
