Amid an all-out attack from the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) over his statements in the United Kingdom seeking foreign intervention and persistent demand from the ruling dispensation for an apology for defaming the country on foreign soil, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday broke his silence and said he will speak in parliament if he is allowed to speak.
When asked by The New Indian about BJP demanding his apology for his remarks in the United Kingdom, Rahul Gandhi said, “If they allow me to speak in the Parliament, I will say what I think.”
The BJP has accused the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Kerala of demeaning India on foreign soil. Leaders from the ruling party have demanded an apology from Gandhi while Congress has fielded its senior leaders to defend their former president.
Earlier, the Leader of the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister Piyush Goyal demanded an apology stating that Rahul Gandhi should come to the Parliament House and apologize to the Speaker and members of the house for defaming Indian democracy on foreign soil.
“Our democracy works on sound principles. He has humiliated the Indian parliament on foreign soil. I strongly condemn the comments he made about our Parliament. Again, I will say he should come back and apologise to the House and the Speaker,” Goyal said.
A controversy erupted after the Gandhi scion addressed a lecture at Cambridge University in London where he mentioned that Indian democracy is under pressure and opposition voices are being stifled.
“Everybody knows and it’s been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space. The institutional framework which is required for democracy is Parliament, free press, and the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, and moving around all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy.”