Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi speaking in the House on July 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Mounting a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his speech, Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Kiren Rijiju on July 1 accused him of lowering the dignity of the office of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha by making “extremely irresponsible” remarks and “unverified” claims.
They also accused Mr. Gandhi of insulting the entire Hindu community by terming them violent and “asatyavadi (untruthful)”.
Mr. Vaishnaw said the Congress leader who was previously used to enjoying power without responsibility, now held a responsible post but was still making “most irresponsible statements”. The Union Minister countered the “false” assertion of Mr. Gandhi on the issue of compensation for Agniveers, stating that during the LoP’s speech Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had immediately clarified that ₹1 crore compensation is given to the family of those who lay down their lives in the line of duty.
He said Mr. Gandhi’s claims about compensations to the affected people in Ayodhya were also untrue, as the State government’s data clearly showed that over ₹1,253 crore had been given to the local shopkeepers and others and other necessary relocations were also done. The Union Minister expressed anguish over the “irresponsible manner” in which Mr. Gandhi commented on the Chair of the Speaker, alleging that the Congress had always attempted to weaken the constitutional scheme of things.
In the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the party that imposed Emergency and was involved in anti-Sikh riots should not preach about the Constitution.
At the press conference, Mr. Rijiju said now that Mr. Gandhi had become LoP, the BJP was hoping for a positive change in his approach. However, the Minister alleged that the Congress leader’s utterances reduced the level of debate on Monday. He said that despite repeated reminders citing the rules, Mr. Gandhi had been showing his back towards the Chair and was addressing his MPs instead. Mr. Rijiju said during the “Motion of Thanks”, it was a parliamentary tradition to express gratitude towards the President, but Mr. Gandhi failed to do so.
Mr. Vaishnaw said the most worrisome aspect of Mr. Gandhi’s speech was the allegation that the whole Hindu community was violent and untruthful. “This is not happening for the first time…in 2010, the then Home Minister P. Chidambaram had termed Hindus ‘terrorists’. In 2013, the then Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde did the same…in 2021, Mr. Gandhi said the ‘Hindutvadis’ should be thrown out of the country,” he said.
The BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said this time the Congress leader took his oath as an MP not in the name of God, but through “solemn affirmation”. “In 2014, he had taken oath in the name of ‘Ishwar’ in Hindi. What has changed since 2014…?” he asked, taking exception to the manner in which the picture of “Ishwar” was shown in the House. He said soon after alleging that the BJP and the RSS were promoting “Hindu terrorism” through their training camps, Mr. Shinde had expressed regret in February 2013. “Mr. Gandhi should learn from Mr. Shinde and do the same,” he said.
