Last Updated on February 4, 2026 12:33 am by INDIAN AWAAZ
Staff Reporter / New Delhi
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla saying that it is a “deliberate attempt” to prevent him from speaking as the LoP in the House on matters related to national security. The letter came following him being prevented from reading out excerpts from ex-Army chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished book, for the second consecutive day,
Rahul Gandhi stated in the letter that a Member who wishes to refer to a document in the House is required to authenticate it and affirm responsibility for its contents. Once this requirement is fulfilled, the Speaker allows the Member to quote or refer to the document, he said.
“Preventing me from speaking in the Lok Sabha today not only violates this convention, but also gives rise to a serious concern that there is a deliberate attempt to prevent me, in my capacity as the Leader of the Opposition, from speaking on matters of national security. It is worth repeating that national security was a key part of the President’s Address, which requires a discussion in Parliament,” the letter stated, underlining that he wanted to draw the attention of the House on a matter concerning “national security.”
Describing this episode as a “blot on democracy”, Rahul Gandhi said, “The refusal of these basic democratic rights has led to an unprecedented situation. For the first time in Parliamentary history, on the behest of the government, the Speaker has been forced to prevent the Leader of the Opposition from speaking on the President’s Address.”
Suspension of Opposition MPs
Earlier in the day eight Opposition MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Budget session owing to the uproar in the Lok Sabha and for throwing papers towards the Chair. Theses included senior leaders Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Padole, S. Venkatesan and Dean Kuriakose.
On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi tried to read out excerpts from Naravane’s unpublished book, but was prevented from speaking. Opposition MPs, in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi, protested in the Lower House, and some of them even refused to speak when asked to.