Congress moves privilege motion against PM Modi over Nehru surname remark against Gandhis

"I hereby give notice of a question of privilege against the Prime Minister of India under Rule 188 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Council of States (Rajya Sabha) for having cast reflections upon Members of Parliament during his reply to the Motion of Thanks for the President's Address on February 9, 2023," said Venugopal in the letter.

He added that the remarks prima facie made in a "mocking manner" are not only "disgraceful but also insulting and defamatory" vis-a-vis the members of the Nehru family, particularly Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who are Members of Lok Sabha.

He further stated, "in view of the foregoing, he seeks privilege proceedings against Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India for having made derogatory, insulting, distasteful and defamatory remarks against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi which has amounted to a breach of their privileges and also contempt of the House."

He further said, "The tone and tenor of the remark are insinuating and derogatory in nature. This clearly amounts to casting reflections upon Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi by the Prime Minister breaches their privileges and also tantamounts to contempt of the House."

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at the Nehru-Gandhi family over a large number of schemes named after its members and asked why they are "scared of keeping the Nehru surname".

Replying to the debate in Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's address, PM Modi targeted Congress leaders who accuse the government of trying to obliterate the significance of the work done by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Prime Minister had faced constant sloganeering from opposition members during his speech. The opposition parties had been demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Hindenburg-Adani row.

PM Modi had said he had read somewhere that more than 600 government schemes were named after the Nehru-Gandhi family.

"Some had problems with the names of schemes of govt and Sanskrit words in the names. I read in a report that 600 government schemes were in the Gandhi-Nehru family's name...I don't understand why people from their generation don't keep Nehru as their surname, what's the fear and shame?" PM Modi had said.

"If such a big personality is not acceptable to you, you ask for account from us," he had asked.He had said the country is built on the hard work of people and through traditions spread over generations. (ANI)