'He just ran away': Rahul Gandhi's 'not allowed to speak' claim gets Om Birla's 'maintain conduct' reply

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in

Lok Sabha

, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday alleged speaker Om Birla did not allow him to speak in the House.
Gandhi said he wanted to speak on the

Maha Kumbh

and unemployment issue.
"Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) ji spoke on Maha Kumbh and I also wanted to speak on (Maha) Kumbh Mela. I wanted to say the Kumbh Mela was very good. I also wanted to speak on unemployment but I wasn't allowed. I don't know what the approach and thinking of the Speaker are, but the truth is we are not allowed to speak," Gandhi told reporters.
He also claimed Birla made an "unsubstantiated remark" about him before adjourning the House.

"I don't know what is going on. I requested him to let me speak but he (Speaker) just ran away. This is no way to run the House. The Speaker just left and he did not let me speak. he said something unsubstantiated about me and adjourned the House, there was no need," the Rae Bareli MP stated.
The ex-Congress chief also noted that the convention requires the leader of the opposition to be given time to speak.
"However, whenever I stand up, I am stopped from speaking. I did nothing, I was sitting quietly. There is no place for democracy. There is a place only for the government," he told reporters.
'I expect LoP to maintain conduct': Om Birla
Meanwhile, Birla asked Gandhi to "follow the rules of the House."
"It is expected of you to uphold the high parameters of decorum and sanctity of the House. There are several incidents in my knowledge when MPs conduct was not in accordance with upholding the high parameters of decorum and sanctity of the House. I expect the leader of the opposition to conduct as per the rules" the Speaker said.
'Took me back to my school assembly': Congress MP Karti Chidambaram
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said he felt like he was "back in my school assembly."
"I don't know what happened and what the provocation was. I don't know what the provocation was, or why the speaker had to say this. It reminds me of my headmaster in school. I felt like I was back in my school assembly. I don't know why the house was adjourned," Chidambaram remarked.