Rahul Gandhi accused PM Modi of being 'compromised' and 'afraid' to let him speak in Parliament about Gen Naravane's memoir, the Epstein files, and a trade deal, alleging the PM is under 'extreme pressure' and has sold the country's interests.
"PM Modi is Compromised. PM is too afraid to let me speak in Parliament about Naravane, Epstein Files and how he has surrendered on Tariffs," Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, posted on X.
Speaking to reporters here, Gandhi said he wanted to make "three things" clear. "I want to say three things. The first thing is, they're not letting me speak. Modi is nervous," Gandhi said while claiming that a trade deal, which he claimed had been stalled for four months, was signed recently. "What I know, Narendra Modi knows. Modi signed that deal yesterday evening," he added.
PM under 'extreme pressure', says Gandhi
The Congress leader further claimed that the Prime Minister was under "extreme pressure" and that the public image built around him might "burst". "Narendra Modi is under extreme pressure, and his image, which was created with thousands of crores of rupees, might burst. The issue is not Naravane's statement. This is a sideshow. And he knows it, and I know it too. The main thing is that our Prime Minister has been compromised. Who did it, how they did it, the people of India have to think about this. But for the first time in history, the Leader of Opposition was not allowed to speak during the Presidential address," he said.
'Modi has sold the country'
Doubling down on his allegations, Gandhi further claimed that the trade deal had compromised national interests. "All understand that in this trade deal, Narendra Modi has sold the country, because he is compromised. So they are not letting me speak there. Narendra Modi is scared because the people who created his image are now starting to puncture it. There is a case against Adani in the United States. The second is the Epstein files, and there's more to come, which country wants to know. It hasn't been released yet by America. So these are the two pressure points, and you should understand this, the country should understand that the Prime Minister is compromised," he remarked.
8 Opposition MPs suspended from Lok Sabha
Earlier, eight opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the budget session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair" following uproar in the House over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's insistence on mentioning a specific reference about the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh in 2020.
The House, which witnessed two adjournments earlier in the day, resumed proceedings at 3 pm, and Rahul Gandhi said that he would not refer to any magazine article about former Army Chief Gen MM Naravane's memoirs but would make comments about Chinese action during the Kailash Range standoff with China and the government's response.
The government has said that Rahul Gandhi cannot quote from an unpublished memoir or a magazine article based on it.
The opposition MPs who have been suspended for the remainder of the session are Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Dean Kuriakose, and CPI(M)'s S Venkatesan.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)