Claim:
A video (here, here & here) of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying, “Bharat Mata (Mother India) is an unparliamentary word nowadays in India,” is being widely shared on social media, claiming that he dishonoured Mother India. Let us verify the claim made in the post.
Investigation:
An internet search using relevant keywords led us to several media articles (here, here & here) reporting on this video. According to them, the viral video shows Rahul Gandhi saying that “Bharat Mata” is now an unparliamentary word in India, in response to questions about expunging parts of his speech in the Lok Sabha on 9 August 2023.
Further research led us to the full video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Parliament during the no-confidence motion debate on 9 August 2023. In his speech, Rahul Gandhi referred to Narendra Modi’s government as “traitors,” stating they were not “nationalists,” and alleged that their politics “murdered Bharat Mata” in Manipur. However, according to media reports, parts of his speech were expunged from the records. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi clarified that the expunged words did not include “Bharat Mata.” The same can be verified through the official records of Parliament where the words like ‘hatya (murder)’, ‘katl (murder)’, ‘deshdrohi (traitor to one’s country)’, ‘hatyare (murderer)’, ‘mara (killed)’ were removed.
According to Rule 380 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, if the Speaker believes that words used in a debate are defamatory, indecent, unparliamentary, or undignified, the Speaker may, at their discretion, order that such words be expunged from the proceedings of the House.
Based on the above evidence, it is clear that Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the viral video are aimed at criticizing the ruling party after parts of his speech were expunged in the Lok Sabha.
To sum up, Rahul Gandhi’s comment about expunging his speech has been shared with a misleading claim.
Conclusion: The viral video shows Rahul Gandhi criticizing the government for expunging some words in his speech in the Lok Sabha during the no-confidence motion debate on 09 August 2023, citing them as unparliamentary. Hence, the claim made in the post is misleading.
(The fact-check article was originally published by Factly and has been republished by Lighthouse Journalism a part of Shakti Collective.)
