Test of Indian democracy: Rahul on whether he'll be allowed to respond

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged the whole tamasha around his remarks in the UK has been created by the government to divert attention from the Adani issue and asserted it is a test of Indian democracy as to whether he would be allowed to respond to the allegations by the BJP in ParliamentAddressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here Gandhi said the question before the country is that whether after four BJP leaders have made allegations about a member of Parliament that person would be given the same space as them or he be going to be told to shut upIn an apparent reference to the controversy over his remarks in the UK Gandhi said this whole thing is about distraction and claimed that the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scared over the Adani issue and that is why they have prepared this whole tamashaGandhi on Thursday arrived in Parliament House after his return from abroad and met Speaker Om Birla urging him to allow him to speak in Lok Sabha I went to Parliament this morning with the idea of putting forward what I have said or what I feel on the floor of the House Four ministers have raised allegations against me in Parliament House it is my right to be allowed to speak on the floor of the House the former Congress chief saidI told him the Speaker that people from the BJP have made allegations against me and as a member of Parliament it is my right to speak he saidGandhi said Birla was noncommittal and just smiledThe Congress leader said he is hopeful though not very sure that he would be allowed to speak in Parliament on Friday Gandhi said he had asked some fundamental questions about the relationship between Modi and Adani Group chairperson Gautam AdaniThe whole idea is that all those questions must not be on the table and that is why this whole exercise of fourfive ministers and the prime minister speaking he claimed More importantly whose money is in these shell companies who is this unknown person whose money is in these shell companies Gandhi asked As an MP I would like to first place my statement on the floor of the House and then after that I would be happy to have a discussion with you all he told reportersAlso read Will speak in Parliament if allowed by chair says Rahul GandhiGandhi reiterated that the allegations have been made in Parliament by four ministers and it was my democratic right to have the opportunity to respond to that in Parliament So if Indian democracy was functioning I would be able to say my piece in Parliament he saidSo actually what you are saying is a test of Indian democracy after four BJP leaders have made allegations about a member of Parliament is that member of Parliament going to be given the same space that those four members were given or is he be going to be told to shut up he said That is what the question is before this country right now he addedGandhis remarks during his recent trip to the UK have rocked Parliament with both houses failing to transact any significant business on the first four days of the Budget sessions second halfSeveral BJP leaders including Union ministers Rajnath Singh Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi have demanded an apology from Gandhi over his remarksDuring his interactions in the UK Gandhi alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a fullscale assault on the countrys institutionsHe also told British parliamentarians in London that microphones are often turned off in Lok Sabha when an opposition member raises important issuesGandhis remarks triggered a political slugfest with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign intervention and the Congress hitting back at the ruling party by citing instances of Modi raising internal politics abroadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever