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Amid a face-off in Parliament between the Centre and Opposition, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and urged him to expunge derogatory remarks made in the House against his family and the Congress.
Mr Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, has told the Speaker that Opposition MPs want the House to function. The Winter Session of Parliament, which started late last month, has seen little business due to repeated adjournments. The session is likely to end around December 20 before the year-end holidays.
Against this backdrop, Mr Gandhi met Speaker Om Birla before the Houses met today. According to sources, he flagged comments by some BJP MPs, Nishikant Dubey among them, and demanded that these remarks be expunged.
After the meeting, Mr Gandhi told the media, "No matter how they provoke us, we will ensure that the House runs. We want debate and discussion. The Constitution debate is scheduled for December 13. We want the debate."
A debate on the 75th anniversary of India's Constitution will be held in Parliament starting tomorrow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will respond in Lok Sabha on Saturday.
The Winter Session of Parliament has been a washout so far after repeated disruptions on multiple issues. When the session started, Congress MPs demanded a discussion on the US Department of Justice indictment against the directors of Adani Green. This led to differences within the Opposition ranks because Congress allies like Trinamool Congress wanted the House to function and discuss issues such as price rise, Manipur unrest and unemployment.
The Adani Group has maintained that Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and senior executive Vneet Jaain are clear of bribery charges. Gautam Adani has said this is not a challenge the group has faced for the first time and stressed that "every attack makes us stronger".
Besides the Adani issue, a no-confidence motion brought by the Opposition against Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has blocked business. The ruling BJP, on the other hand, accused the Congress of working with US billionaire George Soros to destabilise the country.