On a day when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi returned to the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Union Ministers Anurag Thakur and Rajeev Chandrashekhar cited a report in The New York Times to accuse the Opposition of being hand in glove with a foreign government and a media outlet to peddle influence in India.
In remarks in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Dubey said the article in the newspaper detailed how the news website NewsClick had received ₹38 crore in funding and that money had been used to create an “anti-India” atmosphere. He also accused the Opposition of stoking that atmosphere and that it too had received funding from the Chinese government. Significantly, the Lok Sabha Secretariat had first expunged some parts of Mr. Dubey’s speech which were later reinstated.
The Congress took umbrage at the remarks with party leader Manickam Tagore filing a privilege notice against Mr. Dubey. Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary not only raised the issue on the floor of the House but also lodged a formal complaint with Speaker Om Birla, asking his office to investigate how an MP was allowed to speak at a time meant for tabling of official papers and make libellous charges without giving advance notice.
