Rahul Gandhi's microphone muted during NEET discussion: Congress
What's the story
The Congress has claimed that Rahul Gandhi's microphone was turned off during a debate on the National Eligibility-Centre-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leak issue in the Lok Sabha. The party also shared a video on X in which Gandhi can be seen asking Speaker Om Birla to give him access to the microphone. Gandhi said that both the opposition and government should give a joint message to students, which is why he was calling for a discussion on NEET.
Accusations
Congress accuses government of silencing opposition
In response, Birla clarified that he does not have control over switching off MPs's microphones and insisted that "the discussion should be on the President's address." The party also claimed that its president, Mallikarjun Kharge, had his microphone turned off in the Rajya Sabha when he expressed concerns about students suffering from exam paper leaks across the country.
Twitter Post
Check out the video of the session here
Why speaker @ombirlakota switched off LOP Sri Rahul Gandhi’s mic when he was raising an important issue related to the future of our students? #NEET pic.twitter.com/9bEWuU8QjB
— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) June 28, 2024
Call for dialog
Parliament adjourned till Monday amid uproar
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were eventually adjourned till Monday after an uproar from opposition leaders seeking a discussion on alleged irregularities in NEET-UG examinations. After the House was adjourned, Gandhi told media persons outside the Parliament, "I request the Prime Minister that this is an issue of the youth, and it should be discussed properly. A message should go from the Parliament that the Indian government and the opposition are talking about the students together."
Past incidents
Previous allegations of microphone muting by Congress
This is not the first time such an allegation of stifling of voice in Parliament has been made by the Congress party. In 2023, Gandhi accused the government of deliberately silencing him in Lok Sabha when he demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the Adani-Hindenburg row. His colleague Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also wrote to Speaker Birla, alleging that his microphone had been muted for three days during a budget session.