'Censorship! Inside and outside Parliament': Derek O’Brien on 200+ disallowed questions

Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on Tuesday alleged that around 200 questions raised by him since 2021 in Parliament have been disallowed, with the issues ranging from terrorist attacks and job losses in the IT sector to hate crimes.

O’Brien’s allegations came a day after senior Congress MPs Manish Tewari and Vivek Tankha claimed that the questions they raised were also routinely disallowed.

In a post on X, O'Brien described it as "censorship! inside and outside Parliament".

The TMC leader also shared a screenshot of his member portal on the Digital Sansad website showing 207 entries under the ‘disallowed’ category.

O'Brien shares examples from Digital Sansad portal

"From March to July, the Union Govt sent a blocking order to social media firms every minute," he alleged.

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"In Parliament, over 200 questions asked by me (were) disallowed; topics ranging from terrorist attacks, job losses in the IT sector, to hate crimes," he said.

The screenshot shared by the TMC leader showed questions to the Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Ministry on the ‘Disposal Rate in Central and State Information Commissions’.

It showed that this question was disallowed under Rule 47(2)(i) on the grounds that a question should be pointed, specific and confined to one issue.

Then, questions to the Communications Ministry on ‘SIM Binding directions’ and the Home Affairs Ministry on the 2025 Delhi Red Fort blast were both disallowed under Rule 47(2)(xxii), stating that questions should not seek information about matters which are secret in nature.

A question to the Home Affairs Ministry on ‘Downgrading of NHRC Status’ was also disallowed under Rules 47(2)(xviii) and 47(2)(xxii).

Congress MPs make similar allegations

On Monday, Congress’ Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari claimed that over 120 of his questions between September 2020 and August 2025 were disallowed.

The issues ranged from Chinese border incursions and Operation Sindoor to terrorism by Pakistan, crude oil imports from Russia, farmer protests and constituency development.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha also said he had submitted around 90 questions in the Rajya Sabha during the current session but had received answers to fewer than 10.

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CJP flags questions on youth protests

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Sunday alleged that three sets of questions submitted by DMK Lok Sabha member V S Matheswaran on the youth protests were also disallowed during the Monsoon Session.

CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said the questions covered issues including refund of NEET-UG 2026 application fees, public distrust in the government, facilities provided to protesters in Delhi, student welfare, paper leaks and education reforms.

Matheswaran later confirmed that the questions were disallowed and said he received the information through the Lok Sabha members' portal.