Rahul Gandhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad clash in Lok Sabha during debate

A heated exchange erupted in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday between Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and senior BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad during the debate on the noconfidence motion moved by opposition parties against Speaker Om Birla reported news agency ANIThe confrontation took place when Rahul Gandhi interrupted Prasadrsquos remarks alleging that he had previously been prevented from raising issues in Parliament related to Prime Minister Narendra ModiRahul Gandhi reiterates lsquoPM compromisedrsquo allegationDuring the debate Gandhi claimed he had been repeatedly stopped from speaking in the Lok Sabha when he tried to raise certain issues including claims that the prime minister had been ldquocompromisedrdquoI was stopped multiple times from speaking in the Lok Sabha Last time I raised the issue of the Prime Minister being compromised I raised the issue of Mr Naravane I raised the issue of Epstein I was silenced Our PM has been compromised and everyone knows Gandhi said while intervening during the discussion reported ANIHis remarks prompted strong objections from the ruling benchesRavi Shankar Prasad rejects claimsResponding to Gandhirsquos remarks Prasad strongly rejected the allegations and defended the prime ministerI would like to remind the Leader of Opposition that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can never be compromised Prasad said reported ANIHe also questioned the appropriateness of Gandhirsquos intervention during a point of order and said the Opposition should adhere to parliamentary procedures during debatesPrasad further criticised the noconfidence motion against the Speaker suggesting that it lacked substantive groundsBJP questions basis of Opposition motionPrasad also raised doubts about the authenticity of claims made by the Opposition particularly those related to excerpts from the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief M M NaravaneThe book which never got published circulated How can anyone authenticate it he said arguing that parliamentary discussions should not rely on unverified material reported ANIThe BJP leader also accused the Opposition of using parliamentary proceedings for political purposesLet the instrument of opposition against the Speaker not be weaponised to satisfy the ego of a leader Prasad saidPrevious controversy over Naravane memoirThe dispute is linked to an earlier confrontation in the Lok Sabha during the Motion of Thanks on the Presidentrsquos Address on February 2During that debate Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote from a magazine article containing excerpts from Naravanersquos unpublished memoirDefence Minister Rajnath Singh objected to the reference arguing that a Member of Parliament should not cite material from an unpublished and unauthenticated bookThe ruling benches also objected to Gandhirsquos remarks leading to interruptions in the HouseOpposition moves noconfidence motion against SpeakerThe confrontation forms part of a larger dispute over the Oppositionrsquos noconfidence motion against Speaker Om BirlaThe motion was moved by Congress MP Mohammad Jawed and was backed by more than 50 MPsA total of 118 Opposition MPs have signed the resolution accusing the Speaker of partisan behaviour and alleging that opposition leaders were not being allowed adequate time to speak in the HouseDebate allotted 10 hours in Lok SabhaDuring the proceedings BJP MP Jagdambika Pal who was presiding over the House at the time allowed the motion to be taken up for discussionHe announced that around 10 hours had been allotted for debate on the resolution and urged members to focus on the issue raised in the motionPal also said that the Speaker had been generous in allowing Opposition members to raise their concerns through established parliamentary proceduresThe debate reflects rising tensions between the ruling alliance and the Opposition during the ongoing Budget Session of ParliamentWith inputs from ANI