Rahul takes lead in Lok Sabha, advances to Speaker's podium

The Congress vice-president accuses the Speaker of not allowing the opposition to speak

Leading from the front, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday advanced to the Lok Sabha Speaker's podium along with other party MPs demanding a debate on increasing incidents of communal clashes in the country.

As soon as the house met, the opposition parties led by the Congress raised slogans demanding a debate on the communal riots in Uttar Pradesh and the introduction of the bill against communal violence.

Minutes later, Gandhi lead a group of Congress parliamentarians to the Speaker's podium, following which Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the house till noon.

Talking to mediapersons after coming out of the house, Gandhi accused the Speaker of not allowing the opposition to speak.

"We are asking for a discussion but there is a mentality in the government that discussion is not acceptable," Gandhi said.

"There is a mood in parliament that only one man's voice counts for anything in this countrya only one voice is being heard," he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, termed Gandhi's aggression as 'frustration'.

"There is a procedure laid out and the speaker has to follow it. These accusations against the speaker depict the utter frustration of the Congress and they do not want to participate in any debates," party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.