'It goes against the tenets of democracy': Rahul Gandhi writes letter to LS Speaker Om Birla after parts of speech expunged

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Leader of Opposition on Tuesday wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla, requesting that the expunged remarks and portions from his speech be restored. "...Shocked to note the manner in which considerable portion of my speech have been simply taken off from the proceedings under the garb of expunction...Taking off from records my considered remarks goes against the very tenets of parliamentary democracy..." the letter read.

After his remarks were expunged in the Lower House on Monday, Gandhi took a jibe at PM Modi by saying that "everything is expunged in PM Modi's world".

"In Modi ji's world, truth can be expunged. But in reality, the truth can't be expunged. I said what I had to say, that is the truth. They can expunge as much as they want. Truth is truth," he told reporters outside Parliament.

In his first address as the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi accused the ruling party's leaders of dividing people along communal lines, which led to significant protests from the treasury benches. Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized him for labeling the entire Hindu community as violent.

Gandhi was speaking during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address to a joint sitting of Parliament.

He quoted Prophet Muhammad to emphasize that the Quran advocates fearlessness.

Holding up images of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, and Jesus Christ, Gandhi referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Jainism to stress the importance of fearlessness. He cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and the teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Mahavir, stating that all religions and great leaders convey the message, "daro mat, darao mat" (do not be scared, do not scare others).

Rahul Gandhi's remarks caused an uproar from the treasury benches, leading the Chair to strike them from the record.

The statements expunged from Parliament proceedings included Gandhi's accusations against the BJP for unfair treatment of minorities, comments about industrialists Adani and Ambani, claims that the NEET exam favors the wealthy over meritorious students, and his assertion that the Agniveer Scheme originated from the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) rather than the Indian Army.

During Gandhi's speech, which lasted about an hour and 40 minutes, Prime Minister Modi intervened twice, and at least five cabinet ministers interjected. Home Minister Amit Shah demanded an apology from Gandhi.

Meanwhile, several parts of the speech by Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, were also removed from the Parliament records.

An official document revealed that words like 'Satyanash' (annihilate), 'Ghamand' (arrogance), and 'Mujra' (a dance performance by women that originated during Mughal rule in India) were expunged from Kharge's speech.

Additionally, the House removed some of Kharge's statements accusing Prime Minister Modi of dividing society and spreading misinformation.