Kharge Demands RS Chairman to Restore Expunged Remarks from Speech on President’s Address

NEW DELHI:
Rajya Sabha witnessed a sharp exchange on Friday, as Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge urged Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan to restore portions of his remarks that had been expunged from the official records.

The controversy arose from Kharge’s earlier speech on February 4 on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, where he had critiqued Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies.

Before Question Hour commenced, Kharge raised the issue, requesting the Chair to reinstate his comments on the Prime Minister’s approach.

Chairman Radhakrishnan assured him that the matter would be looked into.

Kharge further said his original comments, now removed from the record, reportedly targeted aspects of the government’s policies, reflecting the opposition’s broader criticisms of the ruling dispensation.

Such expunctions are a standard tool under Rajya Sabha rules to maintain decorum, but they often spark accusations of suppressing dissent.

Kharge said during five decades of his political career, he had never made any unparliamentary remark against anyone, nor did he speak against anyone personally.

He said if his demand is not met, he would go to the public and reproduce whatever he had said about government policies. To which the chair reprimanded him and said he was disrespecting the chair, when he was assured that the matter would be looked into and firmly rejected the plea, stating that once remarks are expunged, they cannot be restored.

Chairman Radhakrishnan added that the request amounted to instructing the Chair, calling it undemocratic and improper.

He said he was just pointing out policy shortcomings. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman intervened, defending the Chairman’s authority.

Quoting parliamentary rules, she explained that the Chair has the discretion to expunge words or phrases deemed defamatory, indecent, unparliamentary, or undignified during debates. Sitharaman accused the Leader of Opposition of disrespecting the Chair by challenging the decision-making process and standing up to question it directly.