Union Minister Kiren Rijiju
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Hitting back at Union minister Kiren Rijiju for criticising Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Wednesday said he should not dub calls for accountability as "anti-national rhetoric" and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must answer in Parliament the questions being raised by the Opposition.
Tagore's attack came after Rijiju accused Gandhi of speaking the "language of Pakistan" to mislead the country with his criticism of Prime Minister Modi on foreign policy instead of presenting a united face.
"It harms the country," Rijiju told reporters, a day after the Congress leader slammed Modi over his government's China policy.
Hitting back at Rijiju, Tagore said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju's attack on the Leader of the Opposition is not just unacceptable but shows "how rattled the Modi government is".
"When Dr. (S) Jaishankar meets the Chinese leadership, what he says (or fails to say) matters more than any lecture to the Opposition. People's leader Rahul Gandhi hails from a family that split Pakistan and created Bangladesh, a moment of unmatched strategic success in India's foreign policy history," the Congress MP said in a post on X.
"Don't dare brand him in Sanghi's words just because he's asking tough questions the PM is too scared to answer. You talk of 'coordination', Mr. Minister, but your words reflect arrogance and intolerance," Tagore said.
The prime minister is not above Parliament, he said.
"He (Modi) heads a minority party in a coalition government, reduced by the people of India. He must answer the Leader of the Opposition," Tagore said.
"The Opposition wants Parliament to function. We want the Prime Minister to speak, and answer to the House, not hide behind staged monologues," he said.
Don't twist calls for accountability into "anti-national" rhetoric, Tagore told Rijiju.
This is democracy, not a dictatorship, he added.
"If Modi ji can't face Parliament, if he can't speak to elected MPs, then he should ask himself, who is really harming India's democracy? @Kiren Rijiju, Mind your words. Parliament belongs to the people, not to one party," Tagore said.
Earlier, Rijiju said he will advise the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha that he should work in cooperation on foreign policy and not make comments "against the country", a sign of deepening acrimony between the ruling alliance and the Opposition ahead of the start of Parliament's Monsoon session.
Rijiju said, "You (Gandhi) criticise the prime minister on foreign policy instead of presenting a united face. How does it benefit the country... Rahul Gandhi tries to mislead by speaking the language of Pakistan on foreign policy."
Gandhi had on Tuesday tagged a media report on S Jaishankar calling on Chinese President Xi Jinping and apprising him of the recent development in India-China ties, and alleged that the external affairs minister was "running a full-blown circus aimed at destroying India's foreign policy".
"I guess the Chinese foreign minister will come and apprise Modi about recent developments in China-India ties. The EAM is now running a full-blown circus aimed at destroying India's foreign policy," Gandhi had said.
Monsoon session of Parliament begins from July 21.