Lok Sabha Turns Noisy as Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rahul Gandhi Clash Over LoP Conduct

The Lok Sabha witnessed loud and disruptive scenes on Wednesday after a sharp exchange between BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over the conduct expected of the LoP in Parliament.

The confrontation unfolded during a debate on a motion to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, with Opposition MPs raising slogans and protesting after Prasad's remarks drew sharp reactions from the benches across the aisle.

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Prasad directly criticised Rahul Gandhi's behaviour both within the House and during his international visits. Suggesting that Congress leader K C Venugopal should guide Gandhi on the appropriate conduct of a Leader of Opposition, Prasad said: "Venugopal ji should teach something to Rahul Gandhi about the conduct of the LoP."

He also took aim at Gandhi for citing what he described as an "unpublished memoir" of a former army chief on the floor of the House — a remark that triggered immediate protests from Opposition MPs.

Responding from the Opposition benches, Rahul Gandhi defended his record and pushed back against the criticism.

"Multiple times, my name has been raised, and wild things have been said about me," he said. Gandhi argued that Parliament represents the collective voice of the entire country, not just the ruling party.

"This House is the expression of the people of India. It does not represent one party but the whole country. Every time we get up to speak, we are stopped from speaking. The last time I spoke, I raised a fundamental question about the compromises made by our PM," Gandhi said.

Prasad firmly rejected Gandhi's allegation against the Prime Minister. "I would like to remind the LoP that the Prime Minister of India can never be compromised," he said.

He also sought to provide historical context to the Opposition's complaints about the Speaker's functioning, recalling an episode from the UPA government era. During the UPA-1 term, when the cash-for-questions case came up in the Lok Sabha, then Leader of Opposition L K Advani was not permitted to speak by then Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. The BJP had protested by staging a walkout and refused to return despite the Speaker's requests.

Prasad cited the episode to argue that disagreements over parliamentary procedure and conduct were not new, and that the Opposition had itself adopted similar positions in the past.