“Case Of Contempt”: BJP MP’s Move Against Rahul Gandhi Over PM Remarks

Attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in parliament over his connections to billionaire Gautam Adani, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has demanded action against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling the statements “misleading, derogatory, and indecent.”

Mr Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing Rahul Gandhi of violating rules by “misleading the house” and accusing PM Modi of crony capitalism without “documentary evidence”.

“While participating in the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Lok Sabha, Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP made certain unverified, incriminatory and defamatory statements… against Prime Minister without giving advance notice,” Mr Dubey wrote in his letter.

“These statements are misleading, derogatory, indecent, unparliamentary, undignified and incriminatory in nature to the dignity of the House and Hon’ble Prime Minister being a Member of Lok Sabha,” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi… has not submitted any duly authenticated document for supporting his statements. As such, he has made a statement which amounts to misleading of the House in the absence of any documentary evidence,” Mr Dubey wrote.

“This conduct is in clear violation of privileges of the House and its members, besides being a clear case of contempt of the House. I request you to please take immediate action against Shri Rahul Gandhi for breach of privilege and contempt of House,” he added.

PM Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani’s firms are in the news after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged stock manipulation and accounting fraud by the group. On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on them in parliament.

The Congressman, who just finished a 3,500-kilometer Bharat Jodo Yatra, accused PM Modi of assisting Gautam Adani’s corporate empire in a variety of industries. The accusation drew vehement denials from the governing BJP, which referred to the claims as irrational and reckless.

BJP officials like Kiren Rijiju and Mr. Dubey responded to Mr. Gandhi’s accusations by claiming that the Congress had actually favoured a number of industrial conglomerates, including the Tata, Birla, and Ambani families.

The BJP MP claimed that Mr. Adani gets along well with both Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal and Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan.

The Adani Group has called the Hindenburg report a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations that have been tested and rejected by India’s highest courts”.

Because public sector organisations like the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) have investments in the Adani Group, the opposition parties claim that the recent stock market collapse in Adani Group shares included public funds. According to the Adani group, all legal and transparency criteria have been met.

Protests related to the Hindenburg-Adani dispute have frequently caused disruptions in both houses of parliament.