At a parliamentary panel meeting on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi spoke at length about his speech in London amid the BJP’s charge that he had insulted the country by questioning the state of democracy abroad. The Wayanad MP said he only raised questions about India’s democracy, and according to sources, he cannot be called “anti-national” for that.

At a parliamentary consultative committee headed by the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Gandhi also said that he did not ask any other country to intervene.

According to sources, the former Congress president told the leaders present that he believed it was an internal matter and they would sort it out.

The meeting, which was also attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, was aimed at discussing India’s G20 chairmanship. At the beginning of the meeting, Shri Jaishankar gave a detailed presentation on the G20 Chairmanship to the Committee members.

Chaired the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for External Affairs on India’s G20 Chairmanship.

Thanks to the members for their active participation. pic.twitter.com/3DW5HrR5zq

– Dr. S Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 18, 2023

Rahul Gandhi, who did not speak in the initial rounds, reacted after an MP raised the issue of political leaders trying to score brownie points by talking about Indian democracy on foreign land.

Mr Gandhi’s comments were objected to by BJP MPs, saying this was not the appropriate forum to speak on the subject. Some other MPs present in the meeting also supported the argument made by the BJP MP, while several opposition MPs supported Mr. Gandhi’s right to clarify or defend himself in the meeting regarding his comments made during his visit to London .

Sources further said that some BJP MPs, without naming anyone, said that Emergency is the biggest blot on India’s democracy and some people are trying to divert attention from India’s G20 chairmanship.

In the midst of a heated debate, Mr. Jaishankar stopped Rahul Gandhi from replying to these statements and asked all leaders to say these things in Parliament.

He asked Mr. Gandhi to speak only on the subject of the Committee and not on political matters.

Rahul Gandhi’s comments have sparked a huge controversy in London, with at least four Union ministers demanding an apology from him inside and outside Parliament.

The first week of the budget session did not work due to protests and sloganeering in both the houses.

While the BJP is demanding an apology from Mr Gandhi, the opposition is adamant on a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the allegations made by US shortseller Hindenburg Research against the Adani group.

In Cambridge University, Gandhi said that Indian democracy is under pressure and the voices of the opposition are being suppressed. “The institutional framework necessary for a democracy – Parliament, a free press, and the judiciary, just the idea of ​​mobilisation, and all are being forced to move. Hence, we are facing an assault on the very basic structure of Indian democracy.” He said that.