At allotted time to speak in Parliament, Rahul was in Vietnam: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah came down heavily on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday for his criticism of the Parliament's functioning, saying at the allotted time to speak in the Lok Sabha, the leader of opposition was in Vietnam.

Shah also described the 4-per cent quota on contracts announced by the Congress government in Karnataka as a "lollipop" for Muslims.

Speaking at the "Times Now Summit 2025", Shah said any reservation on the basis of religion is a violation of the Constitution and would be struck down by courts.

"We strongly oppose any quota on the basis of religion," he said.

On Gandhi's criticism of the functioning of Parliament, the home minister said the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha perhaps do not know that there are rules for speaking in the House, which cannot be run through whims and fancies.

"He (Gandhi) was given 42 per cent of the time in the discussion on the budget. Now, it is up to him to decide who would speak.

"But when a serious discussion was going on in Parliament, he was in Vietnam and when he returned, he started insisting on speaking as per his wish," Shah said.

He said Parliament runs in accordance with rules and procedures, not like the Congress party, which is run by a family and "where you can speak whenever you want".

"I am sorry to say but they have to follow rules and regulations," Shah said.

Asked about the Congress's allegation that an Emergency-like situation is prevailing in the country, Shah said the opposition party keeps criticising the government.

"Had there been an emergency, they (Congress leaders) would have been in jail," he said.

On the Karnataka government announcing a 4-per cent quota for Muslims on contracts, Shah said for the sake of vote-bank politics, the Congress wants to give contracts on the basis of religion, but contracts should be given on the basis of quality and price, not religion.

On the Congress's demand for a caste census, the home minister said the opposition party itself had opposed such an exercise in the past.

"In 2011, they (Congress) had done a survey on castes but not announced its outcome. We are now doing an internal analysis on what process should be followed for a castes census. Once we finalise it, we will see how we can go ahead with it," he said.