The BJP on Monday slammed Rahul Gandhi for making "false and objectionable" claims in the Lok Sabha and said the Leader of Opposition displayed his love for China by taking the name of the country 35 times in his speech. It also hit out at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and hoped that the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar will take cognizance of the breach of privilege notice given by the tribal BJP members against her on Monday for using "derogatory and slanderous" words against President Droupadi Murmu recently in the Parliament complex.
Speaking during a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Gandhi said an INDIA bloc government would not have sent its foreign minister to the US to seek an invite for the prime minister to attend the American president's "coronation." His remarks evoked a sharp response from the BJP which accused him of resorting to "falsehood." During his speech, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi denied that Chinese forces were inside Indian territory, while the Army disagreed with him. He also alleged that about 70 lakh voters, equivalent to the population of Himachal Pradesh, were added to the electoral rolls in Maharashtra between the Lok Sabha and the state assembly polls, and demanded the Election Commission furnish data to the opposition parties in the state.
Reacting sharply on Gandhi's remarks, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "How could you say that the external affairs minister had visited the US to get an invite for the Prime Minister? How could you say out of the figment of your imagination that the Army chief rejected the Prime Minister's statement?" He slammed Gandhi for raising questions on the credibility of the country's poll process and the Election Commission by making "baseless" claims. "He is Leader of the Opposition. With such childishness and lies, he is actually lowering his own dignity and the dignity of his position as well. He keeps talking nonsense," the minister told reporters.
Rijiju also said that Gandhi could say what he wants but he must keep in mind the image of the country and the dignity of the prime minister's post. "Rahul Gandhi will have to follow the rules of Parliament," he said, indicating that the treasury benches may seek action against the Leader of the Opposition for "misleading" the House with his "lies." "We know he can't authenticate what he said (in the Lok Sabha) because it's false," he said.
BJP MP and party national spokesperson Sambit Patra noted that Gandhi took the name of China as many as 35 times in his speech in Lok Sabha. "I want to call him Rahul Jinping today. He took China's name 35 times. This much love he has for China I feel sometimes Rahul Gandhi must be wishing to be a Chinese in his next birth," he said in a video statement on X. He rejected Gandhi's claim that China is way ahead in manufacturing while India is lagging, asking him, "Who gave birth to such a kind of import system?"
The BJP MPs, representing scheduled tribe communities, also submitted a separate breach of privilege notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday, seeking action against Independent MP Pappu Yadav for his remarks on Murmu. "It's a matter of concern because President of India is de facto custodian of the Constitution and MPs have a right to move against those who have tried to demean her with their remarks," BJP MP Rajiv Pratap told PTI in Parliament when asked for comment. Any remark against the President is "unacceptable," he said.
(Except for the headline, nothing has been changed by Top Indian News in the PTI copy.)
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