Asserting that standing committee meeting “is not a protest site,” Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for walking out of the Parliamentary standing committee discussion on defence.
Rahul has complained to the Speaker Om Birla’s that he was not allowed to speak in the meeting of standing committee on Defence on Wednesday.
BJP has hit-out at the Congress leader for his conduct.
“Rahul Gandhi attended 2 of 14 meetings of Parliamentary standing committee on defence in the last year and a half. He’s himself absent and the blames government and all procedures and walks out of meeting in protest. Standing committee isn’t a protest site,” said Javadekar , a day after Gandhi walked out of the committee’s meet.
“Being absent, not discussing their desired agenda of discussion and then making insinuations of non-discussion of important issues is an insult to all parliamentary procedures and constitutional institutions. We condemn this attitude,” Javadekar further said.
On Wednesday, Rahul along with his colleagues, walked out of the meet after not being allowed to speak during a discussion on the armed forces’ uniforms and ranks. The former Congress president reportedly said during the meet that such matters were best left for the forces themselves to discuss and suggested that the panel focus on “more substantive issues.” On this, people said, Gandhi was told by the committee head and BJP MP, Jual Oram, to stick to the agenda of the day, which was “an introduction to the rank, structure of the defence forces including their uniforms, stars and badges, and review of working of cantonment boards.”
Congress has been hitting out at the Government for allegedly not equipping armed forces following the stand-off with China at the Line of Actual Control on the eastern Ladakh borders.