'Mikes in our Parliament are silenced': Rahul Gandhi in London

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told British parliamentarians in London on Monday that functioning microphones in the Lok Sabha are often silenced against the Opposition.

During an event organised by veteran Indian-origin Opposition Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma in the Grand Committee Room within the House of Commons complex, Gandhi shared experiences from the Bharat Jodo Yatra which he described as a "deeply political exercise in mass mobilisation".

In a lighter vein, he used a faulty microphone in the room to make his point about what he described as a “stifling” Opposition debate in India.

“Our mikes are not out of order, they are functioning, but you still can’t switch them on. That’s happened to me a number of times while I am speaking,” the 52-year-old Wayanad MP told the gathering, in response to a question about sharing his experience of being a politician in India with his counterparts in Britain.

“Demonetisation, which was a disastrous financial decision, we were not allowed to discuss. GST we were not allowed to discuss. Chinese troops entering Indian territory we were not allowed to discuss. I remember a Parliament where there were vibrant discussions, heated debates, arguments, and disagreements but we had a conversation. And, that’s frankly what we miss in Parliament. We have to use debates to fit in other debates. There is a stifling that is going on,” he said.

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