Businessman and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s husband, Robert Vadra, on Thursday slammed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for asking Rahul Gandhi to follow rules of conduct in the House. Speaking to news agency ANI in Delhi, Vadra defended Rahul Gandhi’s gesture towards Priyanka.
“Rahul is the voice of the common people. Rahul and Priyanka share a strong bond, where a brother greets his sister with affection. We have been taught how to respect our family members, women, and people around us. We believe in maintaining our relationships,” he said.
“We are not like the BJP, who break relationships and cannot even keep their marriages together,” he added.
Alleging that Om Birla did not hear Rahul’s side before adjourning the House, Vadra said, “With the Speaker adjourning the House without hearing Rahul’s side, it is not correct. The people of India are surprised. They want a Parliament that is more relatable, not one that simply accuses.”
The controversy erupted when BJP leader Amit Malviya shared an older video clip from a parliamentary session on March 18, depicting Rahul Gandhi affectionately touching his sister Priyanka Gandhi’s cheek. Malviya characterized this moment as inappropriate, asserting that the Lok Sabha Speaker had reprimanded Gandhi for his conduct. He called the opposition leader’s actions “disgraceful” and described Gandhi as immature.
In response to the Speaker’s remarks on parliamentary conduct, Gandhi told the media that the Speaker’s statement about him was baseless and lacked substantive evidence.
On Wednesday, TMC MP Saket Gokhale hit out at Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for asking Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to follow parliamentary procedure and uphold the House’s dignity. Responding to a BJP post about the Speaker’s reprimand, Gokhale said, “This is Om Birla – Speaker, Lok Sabha, who took NO ACTION when a BJP MP attacked a Muslim MP & called him “kat*a” & “aatankwadi” in the House.”
