Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Thursday said he has moved a “substantial motion” in the Lok Sabha against Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he had misled the nation.
A substantive motion is a formal, independent proposal submitted to a legislature or assembly for its consideration and approval, intended to communicate a specific decision or position.
Dubey sought the cancellation of Gandhi’s parliamentary membership and called for a lifetime disqualification that will prevent the Congress leader from contesting elections.
“Today I moved a motion in the Lok Sabha against Rahul Gandhi on how he is deceiving the nation with the help of forces like (George) Soros who want to harm the nation. In the motion I moved, I asked that Rahul Gandhi’s membership should be terminated and he should be barred from contesting elections for life,” Dubey told ANI.
This happened after Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha yesterday, in which he accused the central government of compromising national interests.
Party sources told HT that the government will not file a privilege motion against Gandhi but will seek deletion of more words and lines of his speech from the records.
What did Rahul Gandhi say?
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said the government itself admitted that the world was going through a period of global turbulence, marked by the end of the unipolar era, escalating geopolitical tensions and the use of energy and financial systems as strategic tools. Despite acknowledging these developments, he argued that the government had allowed the United States to use energy and financial mechanisms in a way that impacted India.
“You yourself admit that we are facing a global storm, that the era of one superpower is over, that geopolitical conflicts are intensifying, and that energy and finance are being weaponized. Despite acknowledging this reality, you have allowed the United States to weaponize the energy and financial systems in ways that affect us,” he said.
“When America says we cannot buy oil from a particular country, it means that our energy security is dictated from outside, that energy itself is weaponized against us. Aren’t you ashamed of that? I say you have compromised India’s interests,” he added.
Expressing concern over rising tariffs, Gandhi said the average duty rate had risen from around 3 percent to 18 percent, which he described as a six-fold increase. At the same time, he claimed that imports from the United States to India are expected to increase from US$46 billion to US$146 billion.
Calling the situation “absurd”. claimed that India had agreed to increase imports by nearly US$100 billion each year without providing specific guarantees in return.