Controversy over deletion of certain portions of Kharge's speech in Rajya Sabha, demand for restoration

In the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that a major portion of his speech during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's address on February 4 was expunged without any reasonable cause.

Kharge said in the House after Zero Hour that he had clarified at the outset of his speech that the President's address is an important opportunity to raise issues of national importance, but several key issues are not included in it. In this context, he had expressed his views on social justice, parliamentary procedure, and government policies.

He said that on reviewing the verbatim text of his speech uploaded on the Rajya Sabha website, he found that the portions of his speech where he had made fact-based comments on parliamentary work during the current government's tenure and criticized some policies of the Prime Minister had been deleted. He said it is his responsibility as the Leader of Opposition.

Referring to his over five decades of parliamentary experience, Kharge said he has always adhered to the dignity, values, and traditions of the House and that there were no unparliamentary or derogatory words in his statement, nor was there any violation of Rule 261. He cited the freedom of expression available to members of Parliament under Article 105(1) of the Constitution and demanded that the expunged portion be restored. He said if he does not get justice, he will be forced to share the deleted portion with the public.

Chairman CP Radhakrishnan responded, saying the expunged portion cannot be shared publicly. He said, "You are a senior member, how can you say such a thing? Whatever has been expunged has been deleted."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticized the questioning of the Speaker's decision, saying that under Rule 261, the Speaker has the authority to expunge any words or statement that are considered derogatory or unparliamentary. She further said that the Leader of Opposition's allegation that the Speaker was trying to save the Prime Minister is unethical.

On this issue, opposition members tried to raise questions of procedure, but the Speaker did not allow it and started the Zero Hour proceedings.