TDP to move privilege Motion against PM Modi and Piyush Goyal. Full details here

In a massive news break, sources have told Republic TV that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Piyush Goyal for 'misleading the House' regarding the special category status to Andhra Pradesh. As per reports, Chandrababu Naidu asked his MPs to move privilege motion, directly accusing PM of lying.

During the Monsoon session in Parliament, TDP MP YS Chowdary has accused the current government of "willfully burying" the Union Cabinet's decision with regards to the special category status to the state and said that there was a "huge dichotomy in the words and deeds" of PM Modi and Arun Jaitley.

Piyush Goyal had, however, said, "The Centre has an open mind. We are willing to consider in a rational manner how these issues can be resolved so that the letter and spirit is adhered to."

"The purpose is that the people of AP should get the benefit and that the Modi government is fully committed to. Don't go by the letter, go by the spirit of the arrangement," he further said while adding that the state would not have got any extra fund through the special category status.

Earlier, the Congress party has moved a Privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Congress leader Mallikarjun kharge has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, giving notice of his intention to move a Privilege motion against the Prime Minister. 

"In the letter, Kharge wrote that the reason for the motion was "misleading statement in his speech on the debate of 'No Confidence' motion in Lok Sabha." Kharge alleged that the "Prime Minister's claim on transparency in Rafale deal is factually incorrect, untrue and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the House".

Kharge has also moved a Privilege motion against Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the "statement made by her during the intervention in the debate on 'no confidence' motion in Lok Sabha".

"The Minister (Sitharaman) had claimed that the 'Commercial Cost' of the Rafale jet fighter cannot be revealed due to the 'Confidentiality Agreement' signed between Defence Ministers of India and France in2008. The Minister has knowingly and intentionally misled the Parliament by withholding the information that the Government is obliged to reveal to the Parliament," claimed Kharge in a letter written to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Earlier on July 20, BJP moved a privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged false allegations against the government. BJP MP Pralhad Joshi in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan wrote:

"While participating in the discussion, he (Rahul Gandhi) made serious, baseless and wild allegations against the Government and particularly against PM Modi regarding Rafale deal... He termed the PM as bhagidaar instead of a chaukidaar.

Since the statement was baseless, malicious and amounting to bring disrepute to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, the statement made by Shri Rahul Gandhi was misleading to the members and the House. All these incidents amount to breach of privilege and I want to move a privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi."

WHAT IS A PRIVILEGE MOTION?

A privilege motion is a notice by any member of either House of a state legislature or Parliament and is moved when someone is accused of breach of privilege. Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, individually and collectively, so that they can effectively discharge their functions.