TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale hit out at Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for asking Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to follow parliamentary procedure and uphold the House's dignity.
Responding to a BJP post about the Speaker's reprimand, Gokhale said, "This is Om Birla - Speaker, Lok Sabha, who took NO ACTION when a BJP MP attacked a Muslim MP & called him "kat*a" & "aatankwadi" in the House."
"Hate speech for him is parliamentary behavior. But two siblings greeting each other is "unparliamentary". Sums up BJP's mentality," he added.
The controversy began when BJP leader Amit Malviya shared an old video from March 18 showing Rahul Gandhi touching his sister Priyanka Gandhi's cheek during a Lok Sabha session and claimed that Leader of Opposition was schooled by the Lok Sabha speaker for his "Unparliamentary Behaviour". Malviya criticised Rahul Gandhi, calling it "disgraceful" and describing the Leader of the Opposition as a "puerile man."
After being asked to follow rules by the Speaker, Rahul Gandhi told media that Birla had made an "unsubstantiated" statement about him.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram expressed confusion about the incident, comparing the Speaker's intervention to a school headmaster's reprimand and questioning why the House was adjourned.
