Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, listing seven conditions that he said the opposition party should follow if it wants to “win more MPs”.In a post on X, Rijiju said Gandhi should spend more time in India, avoid meeting people he described as “anti-India” and stop promoting their agenda. He also urged the Congress leader to respect senior leaders and learn from their experience, saying it was part of Indian tradition.Listing the conditions, Rijiju asked Gandhi to “spend more time in India and avoid secret foreign vacations frequently.”He further advised him to “end deep hatred against BJP, RSS and Modi Ji” and “treat BJP as political opponent, not enemy.”The minister also asked Gandhi to take “Parliament more seriously” and allow MPs to participate in debates and discussions.“Respect Constitution of India, and honour Constitutional Institutions, and allow Congress party to function as a democratic party and smash dynastic politics,” he said, listing the final two conditions.Rijiju’s remarks came amid an ongoing exchange between the ruling BJP and the Congress over Rahul Gandhi’s demand for an open debate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Earlier on Wednesday, Rijiju shared a video clip of his speech in Parliament during which opposition leaders had walked out of the House.“Parliament is the House for debates & discussion. But people who don’t believe in democracy, debates and discussion are talking about debate,” the parliamentary affairs minister said.Meanwhile, Rahul renewed his challenge to Modi for an open debate, claiming that he could establish within five minutes that the prime minister was a traitor. His remarks drew a sharp response from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.Following Rahul’s challenge, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also urged the prime minister to come forward and answer questions raised over alleged vote theft.In a post on X, Kharge said Modi had no answers on the “vote chori” issue and should accept Gandhi’s challenge to debate various subjects, including “foreign connections”.“You don’t come to Parliament. You have not done a SINGLE OPEN PRESS CONFERENCE; it’s time you came for a DEBATE.“Come forward, Face Questions. Tell the Nation why did you indulge in VOTE CHORI !!” Kharge said.“PM Modi is parroting his flop line of ‘Dimaagi Naxal’! He has NO answer on Vote Chori and the Open Challenge by Rahul Gandhi to discuss how he mortgaged Indian interests to Foreign powers!” he added.Kharge also questioned Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks about three crore voters being “ghuspaithiyas” (infiltrators), asking what he had been doing as home minister if illegal immigrants had entered the country.“He should be sacked for his incompetence,” the Congress president said.Responding to Rahul’s challenge, Sitharaman said Parliament was already an appropriate venue for a debate and reminded him that he was the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.“Rahul ji, you ask the Prime Minister to choose a venue for a debate. There is already one: Parliament, where you happen to be the LoP.“Just yesterday, Home Minister Shri Amit Shah offered a special session to debate SIR and EVMs. Why not show the same enthusiasm for a debate in Parliament that you show while issuing challenges on social media?” Sitharaman said on X.She said that demanding answers also required Rahul to stay and hear the government’s response.“Demanding answers also carries an obligation to hear them,” she said, alleging that Gandhi and other Congress leaders had walked out of Parliament on several occasions while the government was responding to their allegations.
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Sitharaman also accused the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies of repeatedly disrupting parliamentary proceedings, resulting in entire sittings being washed out.She further questioned the nature of Gandhi’s allegations and asked him to present specific claims backed by evidence.“Simply throwing together a long list of accusations doesn’t make your case any stronger. As LoP, you are expected to show some seriousness and responsibility.“You say, ‘Daro mat’. Then bring the facts, face the scrutiny and stay to hear the answers. In the House, uphold the standards of debate you demand from others,” she said.
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