‘First Leader of Oppn to…’: Rijiju slams Rahul over speech abroad, invokes his grandmother Indira, gets Cong reply
Kiren Rijiju’s comments come after Rahul Gandhi hit out at the NDA government in Colombia, saying that the "attack on democracy" poses a major risk to India
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) upped the ante against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his statements in Colombia, with parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday terming him the “first leader of opposition to speak against the country abroad”.
Rijiju invoked Rahul's late grandmother and former PM Indira Gandhi to make his point, saying that when she was the leader of the opposition and was asked about the action against her while on a trip abroad, she had refused to say anything about the country and the government.
"Show me one Leader of Opposition who has ever gone outside India and made statements against the country or the government. Rahul Gandhi is the first,” Rijiju told ANI.
The union minister’s comments come after the Rae Bareli MP hit out at the NDA government during his trip to Colombia, saying that the "attack on democracy" poses a major risk to India.
"India has strong capabilities in areas like engineering and healthcare, so I am very optimistic about the country. But at the same time, there are also flaws in the structure that India has to correct. The biggest challenge is the attack on democracy taking place in India," ANI quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying.
Congress says attack on Rahul Gandhi a ‘misdirected tactic’
The Congress reacted to the repeated attacks on Rahul Gandhi by the BJP for his statements in foreign countries, calling it the ruling party's “misdirected tactic”.
The party's organisational secretary KC Venugopal said that the BJP habitually blames the opposition party for its “own failures bringing international shame.”
“Whether it is said in Colombia or Kanpur, the reality remains the same — India’s government has failed to harness the vast potential of our economy and is undoing our demographic dividend,” Venugopal wrote on X.
“Our democratic system being hijacked is a matter that has brought us disrepute across the world, courtesy the BJP itself. It is a stale, hackneyed and misdirected tactic by the BJP ecosystem to attack Rahul ji for speaking plainly,” the Congress leader added.
