The Rajya Sabha witnessed a heated exchange between Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and BJP leaders after he alleged that Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was not being allowed to speak in the Lower House.
The confrontation began when Leader of the House J.P. Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju objected to Kharge raising the issue, arguing that matters related to the Lok Sabha cannot be discussed in the Rajya Sabha.
Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan also intervened, asking Kharge not to bring up Lok Sabha proceedings in the Upper House, citing an earlier ruling that bars such references.
Kharge, however, maintained that Parliament comprises both Houses and alleged that the Lok Sabha had not functioned for the past four days because the Opposition leader was not being allowed to speak.
“Parliament doesn’t comprise only one House. You cannot paralyse one House to hide your mistakes. You betrayed and insulted the nation. When Rahul talks about it, then ‘aapko khujli uthti hai’ (you get itchy),” Kharge said.
Responding sharply, Nadda reiterated that Lok Sabha proceedings cannot be debated in the Rajya Sabha and referred to past rulings by previous chairmen to support his point.
“Prime Minister Modi was ready to answer questions in the Lok Sabha, but you did not allow the House to function. You demanded a statement on the India–US trade deal; Piyush Goyal ji delivered the statement,” Nadda said.
In a veiled jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Nadda urged Kharge not to let his party become the “hostage of an innocent child”.
Later, when Kharge attempted to quote from General M.M. Naravane’s unpublished book, Treasury bench members objected. Amid the uproar, Opposition members led by the Congress staged a walkout.
