NEW DELHI: Opposition BJP took serious exception to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's "out-of-turn" speech in Lok Sabha on Friday "without a notice".

That he spoke on the contentious issue of Lokpal bill seems to have infuriated the Opposition even more. BJP criticized Rahul's speech, saying he should not be giving sermons to the nation, rather persuade the prime minister to bring changes in the Lokpal bill.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj complained to Speaker Meira Kumar that there were many members who had given notices to speak, but while those were ignored, Rahul was allowed to speak in the zero hour without a notice - he spoke for more than 10 minutes - which goes against the rules of the House.

Not only do members have to give notices to speak on an issue to the Speaker for being allowed to speak in the House, the duration of a speech during zero hour has to be limited to a maximum of three minutes. In Rahul's case, not only was he allowed to speak without a notice, but he was also allowed to continue well beyond 10 minutes. Exceptions can be made for the LoP or the Prime Minister.

Some BJP MPs said, "while Rahul Gandhi was talking about constitutional ways in his speech, by speaking out-of-turn, he was breaking rules of the House."

Swaraj's main contention was that every member of the House, no matter which party he belongs to, is considered equal and that rule should apply to Rahul as well. But, he seemed to have got special treatment, hinting at the Speaker being partisan in allowing him to speak.

Criticizing Rahul's speech, senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP H Ananth Kumar said, "We don't want Rahul's sermons. It is surprising that he is giving sermons to the nation, but his party under PM Manmohan Singh is dilly-dallying on a strong Lokpal issue. We urge him to stop sermonizing and persuade the prime minister to bring changes in the Lokpal Bill."