Kharge retorts to 'muzzling' Oppn right to speak

AS the political showdown over the Opposition's no-trust motion notice against Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar continues, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday accused the chairman of muzzling the Opposition's "right to speak".

- PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi

He said that "expression of opinion" has become the norm in the Rajya Sabha.

Kharge's response came after Union minister JP Nadda's strong criticism against the Congress president for questioning the Chair.

In a long post on micro-blogging site X, Kharge alleged that the Rajya Sabha Chairman has consistently suppressed the freedom of expression of the Opposition members through "persistent heckling, unwarranted insistence on authentication, unfair remarks, and the refusal to list issues of public importance for discussion".