Amidst the ongoing Parliament session, Congress on Friday accused the ruling BJP-led NDA government of silencing opposition leaders by allegedly turning off their microphones. This allegation was made as Rae Bareli MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi accused Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of trying to suppress his voice as he opened discussions on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) issue. Congress also alleged that the microphone of its chief, Mallikarjun Kharge, was turned off in the Rajya Sabha when he raised concerns about students suffering from exam paper leaks in the country.
“While Narendra Modi remains silent on NEET, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is championing the cause of the youth in the House. However, on such a serious issue, a conspiracy is being executed to suppress the youth’s voice through acts like switching off microphones in Parliament,” the Congress stated in a post on X. Furthermore, the party shared a video of Rahul Gandhi on social media, showing him requesting access to a microphone. Gandhi was calling for a debate on the NEET controversy and urging a joint message from both the opposition and the government.
आज जो सदन में हुआ, वह बहुत ही दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है।
नेता विपक्ष श्री @RahulGandhi ने सदन में पूरी शालीनता के साथ NEET पेपर लीक का एक अति महत्वपूर्ण विषय उठाया।
लेकिन सदन में उनके माइक को बंद कर दिया गया, जो कि अच्छी संसदीय परंपरा नहीं है। नेता विपक्ष को अपनी बात रखने का पूरा… pic.twitter.com/24i5C2LP36
— Congress (@INCIndia) June 28, 2024
Birla answers RaGa
In response, Speaker Om Birla clarified in the Lok Sabha that he does not switch off MPs’ microphones and has no such control. “The discussion should be on the President’s address. Other matters will not be recorded in the House,” Birla added.
In 2023, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of deliberately silencing him by similarly turning off his microphone in the Lok Sabha when he was an MP from Kerala’s Wayanad. His colleague Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was the leader of the Congress party in the lower house, had also written to Speaker Om Birla, alleging that his microphone had been muted for three days during the budget session.