‘How will he speak from Germany?’: Amit Shah attacks Rahul Gandhi over foreign trips during House sessions

Referring to Gandhi’s foreign visits when Parliament was in session, Shah said: “In the Winter Session of 2025 he was in Germany; in the Budget Session of 2025 he was in Vietnam; in the Budget Session of 2023 he was in England; in the Budget Session of 2018 he was in Singapore and Malaysia; in the Monsoon Session of 2020 he was travelling abroad; and he was abroad for 60 days during the Budget Session of 2015.”

Shah said, “The coincidence is that whenever a Budget Session or an important session comes, his foreign schedule gets set. And then he says he is not allowed to speak. How will you speak here from abroad? How will a person in Germany, England or Singapore speak here? There is no provision of a video conference here.”

The Union Home Minister said, “I understand that someone’s advisers can be activists, but they will have to follow the procedure of the House here.”

Citing Gandhi’s parliamentary record, Shah said his attendance in the 17th Lok Sabha was 51 per cent, compared with a national average of 67 per cent. In the 16th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 52 per cent against a national average of 80 per cent, while in the 15th Lok Sabha, it stood at 43 per cent compared with a national average of 76 per cent.

In the 16th Lok Sabha, Shah said, Gandhi did not participate in discussions on the President’s Address in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018, nor did he speak in debates on the Budget or on any Bill.

In the 17th Lok Sabha, Gandhi did not participate in the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in 2019, 2020 and 2021, or in discussions on the Budget in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023, Shah said, adding that he took part in the discussion on only one Bill. “He did not even speak in the present debate on the no-confidence motion against the Speaker brought by his own party,” Shah said. “He does not want to speak.”

Referring to a recent incident in Parliament, Shah said women MPs cannot approach the Prime Minister’s chair — an issue flagged by Birla when he said he had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to skip his speech in the Lok Sabha to avoid an unprecedented situation.

Responding to complaints that Opposition leaders’ remarks are expunged, Shah said unparliamentary words have to be removed from the record. “But here they want any language they use to be retained. The House does not function like this,” he said, adding, “There is no Emergency that you should have special rights here.”

Shah also said the BJP had never moved a no-confidence motion against the Speaker while in opposition. “Which alliance are the ones who brought the three no-confidence motions in the past part of? With the opposition of today,” he said.

Under the rules of the Lok Sabha, the Speaker’s ruling is final, Shah said, adding that questioning the Speaker’s integrity reflects poorly on India’s democracy. He suggested such issues should be resolved in the Speaker’s chamber. He added, however, that when the Opposition goes to the Speaker’s chamber, the atmosphere is such that the Speaker’s safety should not be the matter of concern.

“Everyone can speak here, but the House isn’t a mela,” Shah said, adding that members must follow parliamentary rules. When rules are violated, it is the Speaker’s duty to intervene and, if necessary, ask members to leave. He noted that these rules have been in place since the time of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Shah also asserted that even the Supreme Court cannot judge the Speaker’s rulings, a provision meant to ensure the office functions independently. Maintaining the decorum of the House is part of the Speaker’s responsibility, he said.

Referring to senior parliamentarians, Shah asked: “Why don’t seniors like Shashi Tharoor and Baluji teach them what to do?”

Recalling previous no-confidence motions against the Speaker during Congress governments, Shah said those Speakers refrained from presiding only during the debate on the motion. Birla, however, had chosen on moral grounds not to participate in proceedings until the motion was disposed of. Shah added that no Speaker apart from Birla had allowed members to raise questions at midnight.

He also claimed that if the speaking time allocated in the 17th Lok Sabha were compared, the Congress had received six times more hours than the BJP. In the 18th Lok Sabha, he said, the Congress had received double the time. The Leader of the Opposition decides how much of the party’s time to use, Shah added, but Gandhi is often abroad when those opportunities arise.

Shah also mocked the Congress for failing to file the no-confidence notice correctly on two occasions, adding that Birla allowed the party to correct the errors instead of rejecting the notice outright. “Perhaps the Congress itself was not serious about the motion,” he said.

Addressing claims that microphones are often switched off when Opposition leaders speak, Shah said this was not the case. He pointed out that Union Minister Giriraj Singh’s microphone was also switched off while he was speaking against Pappu Yadav. “The mic is not switched off only when opposition members speak; it is switched off whenever anyone violates the rules,” he said.

On the Speaker cutting Gandhi short during debates, Shah said the Chair had little choice when Gandhi continued to repeat remarks that had been ruled out of order.

Responding to criticism over the absence of a Deputy Speaker, Shah said that in 1954 and 1966, when no-confidence motions were moved, the Deputy Speaker was from the ruling party, the Congress. “You filled the Deputy Speaker’s post with your own person and now accuse us? We have at least kept it vacant for you,” he said.

Referring to Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi’s allegation that the government was unwilling to discuss China, Shah said China had captured Aksai Chin during Nehru’s tenure, and recalled Nehru’s remark that “not a blade of grass grows there”.

Shah also accused the Congress of staging protests at an AI summit “after taking off their clothes” in front of foreign dignitaries. “In their opposition to the BJP, they have begun to oppose Bharat,” he asserted.