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BJP counters Rahul’s ‘not allowed to speak’ claim in Lok Sabha NEW DELHI: BJP MP Sambit Patra on Wednesday hit back at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his claim that he was not allowed to speak in the House, saying the Congress leader was given an opportunity to speak and that the objections raised during his speech were related to parliamentary rules.Patra also defended parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju and defence minister Rajnath Singh, rejecting Rahul’s allegation that he was repeatedly interrupted and prevented from completing his speech.The BJP leader’s remarks came after Rahul addressed a press conference following a stormy Lok Sabha session, during which the Congress leader alleged that he was denied an opportunity to speak after holding union home minister Amit Shah responsible for alleged police brutality against student protesters during the July 20 ‘Sansad Chalo’ march.Reacting to Gandhi’s claim, Patra said several opposition MPs, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had been given an opportunity to participate in the debate and questioned why Rahul Gandhi would have been denied the same opportunity.”At 6 PM today, Rahul Gandhi once again held a press conference and tried to mislead people by distorting the facts. First, he alleged that he was not allowed to speak. I have said this repeatedly: when 45 Members were given an opportunity to speak, why would Rahul Gandhi not be allowed to speak? When Priyanka Vadra was given an opportunity to speak, and she too made several allegations, why would Rahul Gandhi not be allowed to speak? Rahul Gandhi was given a full opportunity to speak, but he could not do so,” Patra said.Congress MP had earlier alleged that he repeatedly asked Speaker Om Birla to restore order in the House so that he could continue speaking.”As you saw today, the leader of the opposition was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha. Multiple times, I asked the Speaker to bring order to the House so that I could speak. Multiple times, Rajnath Singh ji and others were allowed to speak, but I was not allowed to speak,” Gandhi said at his press conference.Gandhi alleged that the reason given to him was his remarks holding Shah responsible for the alleged police action against protesting students. He further claimed that he was told he could continue speaking if he apologised, but said he refused to do so.The Lok Sabha proceedings had witnessed sharp exchanges during the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026. The Bill was eventually passed by the House after a prolonged debate.Patra accused Gandhi of ‘shifting the goalposts’ after the BJP rejected his allegation that students were shot at during the protest.”If there’s one person from whom you should learn how to shift the goalposts, it is Rahul Gandhi. I went back and listened to what Rahul Gandhi said in the House today. He said that students were shot at and that the Home Minister had ordered the firing,” Patra said.He said BJP leaders, including Jitendra Singh, Piyush Goyal and Rijiju, had already stated that no firing took place and challenged Gandhi to produce evidence.”If you have any evidence of bullets being fired, show it. If you have any ballistic report, produce it. So now Rahul Gandhi has shifted the goalposts. This habit of changing the goalposts is an old one for him,” Patra said.Patra also questioned Gandhi’s claim that he had personally seen Shah speaking continuously with police officers and Jitendra Singh over the phone during the protest.”In his press conference today, Rahul Gandhi claimed that he personally saw the Home Minister speaking continuously with police officers over the phone and also speaking with Jitendra Singh. How did he see that? Was he sitting inside the Home Minister’s office?” Patra said.Patra defends Rijiju, Rajnath SinghPatra also defended the conduct of Rijiju and Rajnath Singh during the proceedings, saying the parliamentary affairs minister’s objections were justified under the rules of the House.”Rahul Gandhi alleged that Kiren Rijiju and Rajnath Singh interrupted him, while he himself was not given an opportunity to speak. First of all, the two or three objections raised by Kiren Rijiju were entirely justified. Those objections were regarding the use of the unparliamentary word which, under the rules of Parliament, cannot be used on the floor of the House. As the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, it was his responsibility to seek clarification on that,” Patra said.He said Rijiju had not acted aggressively and instead asked Gandhi to follow parliamentary rules.”Kiren Rijiju’s demeanour, body language, and choice of words reflected decency, humility, and composure. He was not angry. In a calm manner, he said, ‘We want to hear you. Please do not use the word, because the House functions according to parliamentary rules,'” Patra said.Patra also said Rajnath Singh had appealed to Gandhi to continue his speech and asked members of the Treasury Benches to listen to the Leader of Opposition.”Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made only one appeal. He said, ‘Rahul ji, please speak,’ and appealed to the members of the Treasury Benches to listen to Rahul Gandhi carefully. What greater example of democratic tradition could there be than that?” Patra said.Rahul alleges police brutality against studentsThe Parliament row came against the backdrop of a larger political dispute over the alleged police action against students who participated in the July 20 march towards Parliament.Gandhi, in his press conference, repeated his allegations that students were subjected to excessive force and claimed that pellet guns, electric batons and lathis fitted with nails were used during the crackdown.”They were shot with pellet guns. One boy who was shot with a pellet gun is most likely to lose his eye and may not be able to see. I have seen the AIIMS medical certificate, which shows that he was shot with pellet guns. Shock batons were used, not just normal lathis, lathis with nails. Where did the police get this idea from?” Gandhi said.He also alleged that Shah was responsible for the alleged police action and demanded his removal.”Now there are two possibilities. Either Amit Shah gave the order to shoot people with pellet guns, beat people with lathis with nails, and use electric batons, or he did not know it was happening. If he did not know, he is incompetent. If he ordered it, he is culpable. In either case, he has to go. And every single child who has been beaten must know this,” Gandhi said.Rahul also demanded an independent probe into the alleged police action, which is being monitored by the Supreme Court.BJP rejects firing allegationPatra separately rejected Rahul’s allegation that police fired bullets at students during the protest and said the Congress leader was making baseless claims against the Home Minister.”Rahul Gandhi said that the students were shot at under the orders of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Piyush Goyal, Kiren Rijiju and even BJP in its press conference has explicitly cleared that no firing took place. If there are any cartridges, ballistic reports, please show,” Patra said.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesHe also questioned Gandhi’s claim that Shah had ordered the alleged firing.”Rahul Gandhi claimed to have heard the conversation of the Union Home Minister, how is it possible? He earlier lied about Late Manohar Parrikar and Late Sushma Swaraj on Rafael deal. Now he is making such claims,” Patra said.The BJP has accused Gandhi of spreading misinformation and attempting to create confusion over the events surrounding the student protests.The party has also demanded that Gandhi apologise for what it described as baseless allegations made inside Parliament.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorPriyanshi RastogiPriyanshi Rastogi is a journalist with The Times of India. She primarily covers national and international news, along with business affairs. Her work focuses on the latest political events, in-depth explainers, features, offbeat articles and viral social media trending stories.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Dear Saurav…’ BJP MP Kangana Ranaut Tells CJP’s Saurav Das To ‘Learn Some Skill’ | Watch’Detaining Activists Is Normal’: JP Nadda Defends Police Crackdown On CJP ProtestersWho Is V Kamakoti? 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