<p>To The Hon'ble Chairman,</p><p>Rajya Sabha, India</p><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 14.4pt; background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 9.0pt 0cm;"><strong><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">(Sub: DEMAND APOLOGY FROM DEREK O'BRIEN FOR WILLFULLY MALIGNING REPUTATION OF CITIZENS: Re)</span></strong></p><p>Sir,</p><p>In the august House of the Parliament today, Shri Derek O'Brien, an MP, made baseless and unsubstantiated allegations against a common citizen <strong>Shri. Rahul Raj (twitter handle @bhak_sala)</strong>. A sample of his allegations are as follows:</p><ol><li>That Shri. Rahul Raj has met Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi and is taking instructions from the Hon'ble PM (to create a vicious and communal atmosphere on Twitter);</li><li>He is paid for such services by the ruling dispensation; and </li><li>His account was suspended by Twitter for the same.</li></ol><p>Apart from the above, during the course of his tirade in the Parliament Shri O’Brien also maligned Shri Rahul Raj’s character, a young citizen of this country who has created a bold and transparent media platform, OpIndia, with considerable readership. None of Shri O’Brien’s allegations has any basis in facts and the book he quotes to make these allegations is authored by an individual who has targeted Shri Rahul Raj in the past. Not just that, the book itself contains no shred of evidence to substantiate any of its allegations. Shri. Rahul Raj himself has since denied these allegations and has also expressed that he feels “<em><strong>threatened as a common man”</strong></em><em> and has urged the </em><em><strong>Parliament to protect common citizens like him instead of allowing itself to be used as a platform to intimidate them and stifle their views. </strong></em></p><p>Similar misinformation was also spread about <strong>Shri. Mahaveer Mehta (twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/MahaveerM_">@MahaveerM_</a> )</strong> in the same speech.</p><p>The Rules of Conduct that protect Parliamentarians are meant to shield them from frivolous litigation for the statements they make during the sessions of the Parliament. They were, however, never meant to be used to shield Parliamentarians when they use the very Temple of Democracy as platforms to target common citizens of the country and tarnish their reputation. This is precisely what Shri O’Brien is guilty of. </p><p>Shri. Rahul Raj, like me (and most Indian citizens), is an average citizen who has neither the reach nor the influence of Shri O'Brien. This does not, however, give individuals like O’Brien the license to walk all over the dignities and reputations of average law-abiding citizens. Therefore, in the interest of fairness and to protect the very democracy Shri O’Brien has pledged to protect and serve, I request you to set a precedent by <strong>demanding Shri Derek O'Brien to</strong> either:</p><ol><li><strong>Prove his allegations:</strong>Against Shri. Rahul Raj; in which case I shall publicly apologize for this inconvenience; or</li><li><strong>Apologize in the Parliament if</strong> he cannot prove his allegations</li></ol><p> </p><p> </p><p>Finally, it is indeed appalling that while Shri O’Brien has not found the time to condemn the hooliganism of his own party cadres in West Bengal, he has the luxury of targeting average citizens thereby wasting the precious time of the Parliament. This is a criminal waste of the opportunity he has been given to serve this country, and not just his party.</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p><strong>Anuraag Saxena</strong></p><p><strong>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/anuraag_saxena" target="_blank">@anuraag_saxena</a></strong></p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>..... </p><p> </p>
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