The privileges committee of the Lok Sabha, as directed by the Speaker’s office, has sent notices to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for breach of privileges filed against him by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi in that order over some remarks Gandhi made about PM Modi during his speech in the Lok Sabha last week on the motion of thanks to the President’s address and accusing him of failing to furnish supportive documents. It has asked Gandhi to furnish his response by February 15, it is learnt.

The letter seeking Gandhi’s reply was sent by a deputy secretary of the Privileges and Ethics Branch of the Lok Sabha Secretariat on February 10 along with the copy of notices of the breach of privileges, forwarded by the Speaker’s office, from Dubey on February 7. A letter from Joshi of the same date to the Speaker, seeking expunction of some remarks by Gandhi, was also sent to the Congress MP, and people aware of the matter said, due to Gandhi’s public criticism of the expunction of his remarks. Joshi’s letter now became a notice of breach of privilege as per provisions of procedures in “Kaul and Shakdher”.

Maintaining that during his February 7 speech, Gandhi made “unverified incriminatory and defamatory” statements in contravention of “Rule 352 (ii), (V) and ( X)”, Dubey is learnt to have said in his notice that Gandhi “has made these statements against the PM without giving advance notice to the Speaker and also to the honourable prime minister” as required under Rule 353.