- Kiren Rijiju accuses Rahul Gandhi of links with anti-India forces and extremists
- Rijiju calls Gandhi's parliamentary conduct childish and irresponsible for his role
- He says parliamentary disruptions are normal but slams Gandhi’s actions
Rahul Gandhi has become the most dangerous person for India's security, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has said, accusing the Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, of links with anti-India forces and meeting Maoists and extremists. In an interview with news agency ANI, Rijiju said India has never seen such a Leader of the Opposition.
On the disruption in Parliament during the latest session, Rijiju, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, said, "Parliamentary democracy will always have noise and commotion: every party has its own agenda and will try to press it in the House. That in itself isn't automatically a failure... But along with the commotion, we have to look at the actions that are being taken. When in opposition, we did not throw papers at the Speaker, carry banners to the ruling side, and this is the reason why I am upset."
The minister described Gandhi's behaviour as "childish and irresponsible for someone in his position". "A Leader of the Opposition represents the whole opposition. Going outside the House, calling people traitors, staging theatrical sit-ins and insisting on reading from an unpublished book, all this is child-like behaviour," he said.
The minister was referring to Gandhi's face-off with his former colleague and current Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu at Parliament.
Rijiju also flagged Gandhi's remarks referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the Epstein Files controversy. "First, consider why Rahul Gandhi's followers do not take this seriously: he speaks without truth... If the Prime Minister met someone, or if documents exist, present them... They are forcibly taking the Prime Minister's name without basis. This causes despair and disappointment," he said.
"Rahul Gandhi has become the most dangerous person for India's security because he associates with anti-India forces. He meets people abroad and at home, Naxalites, extremists, ideologues, people like George Soros."
Rijiju also responded to a question on veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's recent remarks that left the Grand Old Party red-faced. When the Congress leadership distanced itself from his remarks, Aiyar said that if the party cannot stand a dissident, it is doomed.
The BJP leader said the Congress once had strong leaders who were mature in their speech and work. "Slowly, though, Congress has become like Rahul Gandhi and those who revolve around him have also become like him. We could not have imagined Congress becoming like this: continuing the same leader even after losing three times in a row. A BJP leader would not remain a leader after losing three times," he said.
