BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moves privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moves privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi for distorting facts and lowering country's prestige.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, on Tuesday (February 4, 2025), moved privilege motion against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Mr. Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and requested him for initiating ‘privilege proceedings’ against Mr. Gandhi.

In his letter to the Speaker, Mr. Dubey said “Rahul Gandhi not only shamelessly distorted the historical and substantive facts but also made an attempt to ridicule our country and lowering the prestige of our Republic.”

Mr. Dubey said that “Rahul Gandhi, in his speech on the floor of the House, has inter alia raised six issues viz. the mobile phones are not made in India but only assembled in India; forcibly capturing of vast land on the Eastern Regions of our country by China; our country was not invited by U.S. during the swearing-in ceremony of HE Mr. Donald Trump as the President; recent election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, appointment of Chief Election Commissioner/Election Commissioners in the Election Commission of India; and the caste-based census.”

In a swipe at the Leader of Opposition, Mr. Dubey said, “This ‘erudite’ person has neither authenticated his gibberish canards nor apologised of using the pious forum of Parliament to defame our country and the elected government.” He accused Gandhi of blatantly misusing the Constitution’s Article 105, which accords privileges to parliamentarians for their comments made inside the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Claiming that the privilege is subject to provisions of the Constitution and to the rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of Parliament, Mr. Dubey alleged that Mr. Gandhi was misusing Parliament on an “utterly false and imaginary notion” that he as an MP has an inherent privilege to speak whatever he likes on the floor of the House.

He said, “The fact remains that the Article 105 does not give absolute powers and freedom to any public representative, especially of the ilk of Rahul Gandhi, of there would be anarchy in the House.” Mr. Dubey said it is an established legal position that MPs broadly enjoy various privileges are subject to various widely accepted “mores”.