On the fifth day of the Parliament session, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi requested a microphone to raise the issue of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), but was allegedly met with a muted mic. Gandhi was seeking a debate on the controversy surrounding the medical entrance exam and a joint message from both the opposition and the government.

However, Speaker Om Birla clarified in the Lok Sabha that he does not switch off MPs’ microphones and has no such control. “The discussion should be on the President’s address. Other matters will not be recorded in the House,” Birla added.

The Congress party has accused the ruling BJP-led NDA government of silencing opposition leaders by allegedly switching off their microphones in Parliament. The party also alleged that the microphone of its chief, Mallikarjun Kharge, was switched off in the Rajya Sabha when he raised concerns about students suffering from exam paper leaks in the country.

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. In 2023, Rahul Gandhi had accused the government of deliberately silencing him by switching off his microphone in the Lok Sabha when he was an MP from Kerala’s Wayanad. His colleague Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was the leader of the Congress party in the lower house, had also written to Speaker Om Birla, alleging that his microphone had been muted for three days during the budget session.