What is the importance of Parliamentary records and why are remarks expunged?

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expunged large portions of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's maiden speech as the Leader of Opposition, inviting backlash for silencing critics of the government in Parliament.

But, what is the significance of Parliamentary records? Should it matter to the people if remarks made by their representative in the House is omitted from the documentation of proceedings? Why are comments expunged from the records?

Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business mandates detailed records of parliamentary proceedings, including copies of bills tabled, motions proposed, minutes of debates, voting records, and committee activities. A full transcript of all deliberations by MPs, including every speech, comment, question, reply and objection must be maintained. Decisions and rulings of the chair must get documented. The House Secretariat also takes into evidence the documents and digital submissions made by members.

These records are stored and made available to the public through the Parliament Library, that is now available digitally. The idea is to ensure transparency, public scrutiny and accountability. The records serve as reference for legislators and officials, and as evidence of India's Parliamentary history for generations to come.

Rules of Parliament also gives the Speaker the discretion to expunge any words or expressions used in debate that are considered defamatory, indecent, unparliamentary, or undignified. The expunged portions are deleted from the records and cannot be reported by media houses, although they may have been live telecast. These comments are no longer available to the public.

Since legislators enjoy immunity from court proceedings for their statements in Parliament, it is up to the Speaker to ensure that MPs maintain discipline and dignity in their speech and actions. But the presiding officer must also ensure there's no overreach amounting to the silencing of a representative of the people.