Rahul Parroting Pakistan Line, Wish He Was More Mature, Match PM Modi: Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi, Jul 18: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of “parroting” Pakistan’s narrative on Operation Sindoor and wished he was “more mature” and “more intellectual” to at least “match our leader” while raising issues in Parliament.
Ahead of the Monsoon session beginning Monday, Rijiju said that the government was ready for debate on any issue in accordance with rules of procedure and slammed the opposition for trying to “hijack Parliament” by insisting to “occupy all the space”.
He said the government has sufficient legislative business for the Monsoon Session which will continue till August 21. Earlier, the session was to conclude on August 12, but the government opted for a longer duration.
Rijiju said Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had initially supported the government on Operation Sindoor, but later started echoing the Pakistani narrative on the conflict.
“If our leader of opposition is providing fuel to our enemy country, thereby causing harm to our national interest, how do we take it? Internally, we may have all kinds of disagreement, because that is the nature of democracy… but outside you are broadcasting the narrative of the other country. This is something that is unacceptable to us,” he said.
The minister said Gandhi could argue that as the leader of the opposition, his job is to criticise the government, but he was “parroting” the line taken by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
Rijiju said initially, Gandhi was egging the government to take action against Pakistan, then started calling for de-escalation and later wanted to know the number of aircraft India lost during the conflict.
“That is why I have made a very categorical difference between which is internal and which is external. He is parroting the lines taken by Pakistan during the Operation Sindoor,” the minister said.
He said a group of opposition parties tried to damage India’s image but the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured that the entire country was united during the conflict.
“I wish our Leader of Opposition is more mature, more understanding, more intellectual, because we need a leader of opposition at least to match our leader. Our prime minister, all the senior ministers, are very serious about parliamentary business,” Rijiju said.
He said the government was open to debate and discussion but the opposition only wanted to stall parliamentary proceedings, which was not a healthy sign in a democracy.
“Parliament constitutes all the MPs. We are in the government. We have more members of Parliament. But, some of the opposition MPs say that only they should speak. They want to hijack Parliament. That will not happen,” Rijiju said.
“What is a democracy? Democracy is giving space to everybody. In Parliament, it is very proportionate. Every MP represents certain areas, some states and some constituencies. So, if they think that the opposition should occupy all the space, that will not happen,” he said.
Rijiju said Indian democracy is very vibrant and was in favour of the same spirit reflected in Parliament.
“Many people may say that the Indian Parliament is very noisy, very messy, but I welcome it. Being a very vibrant democracy, there should be some fireworks, there should be some, you know, heated debates and discussions. It’s okay,” the minister said. (Agencies)

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