Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that he was not allowed to present his views at a meeting the the Defence Standing Committee, headed by senior BJP leader Jual Oram, on Wednesday.

Gandhi urged Birla to ensure that the right of elected MPs to speak freely in parliamentary panels will be protected and he should also ensure that discussions and presentations in the panel on defence were in consonance with its roles and objectives.

Gandhi and two members of the Congress party had walked out of the meeting protesting the agenda, which included colour of the uniforms. “It is the right of a member to point out digressions from the agenda and the purpose of the Standing Committee. The Committee is free to disagree with what I say, but the fact that the Chairman does not even permit a member to speak is a sad comment on how the government handles military affairs,” Gandhi said in his letter.

Supporting Gandhi, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh also urged the Speaker to look into the working of the committee. “With both China and Pakistan breathing down India, the committee should have been discussing strategic security issues and the urgent requirements of our forces and not the polish they need to shine their shoes and buttons,” Singh said. “People who know nothing of the defence forces are made to sit on these committees now and we expect them to protect the nation,” he added.

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar slammed Rahul Gandhi for walking out of the meeting. “Himself not attending the meetings and conveying desired agenda, and then making imputation of not discussing important issues is an insult to all parliamentary procedures and constitutional institutions,” Javadekar told reporters at a press conference here on Thursday.