NEW DELHI: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday presented a point-to-point rebuttal over the claims made by leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during his address the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address.
The parliamentary affairs minister asked Rahul why the Congress did not make a Tribal or a Dalit the law minister or an OBC a Prime Minister.
“In the last 2-3 years, Rahul Gandhi has been talking about SC, ST, OBC. Prime Minister is the biggest OBC face in the country. Can he not see that? PM of the country is an OBC. He is the most popular leader in the world. Can he not see that? Is Rahul Gandhi blind?” Rijiju said.
“I am an ST. I am working as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister of the country. MoS Arjun Ram Meghwal is working as the Law Minister, he is an SC. Can’t he see that? Did Congress party ever make a Tribal or Dalit the Law Minister of the country? Did Congress make an OBC the Prime Minister? I think Rahul Gandhi doesn’t know what he says,” he added.
Rijiju’s reaction came after Rahul reiterated the demand for a caste census, arguing that OBCs, Dalits, and tribals remain underrepresented in economic and political power structures.
“We conducted a caste survey in Telangana and found that 90 per cent of the population comprises Dalits, tribals, backward classes, and minorities. Yet, none of the largest corporates in this country are owned by them,” he said.
Addressing BJP’s OBC leaders, he said, “Remember, OBCs make up 50 per cent of the population, but you have no real power. I know you cannot even open your mouth. That is the truth of this country.”
Rijiju also attacked Rahul for claiming that the foreign minister S Jaishankar traveled to the United States to secure an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Taking to X, Rijiju suggested that the Rahul is expected to be matured and he should speak in the Parliament with full responsibility.
“Shri Rahul Gandhi is expected to be matured and he should speak in the Parliament with full responsibility as a member as well as the Leader of Opposition. I strongly condemn his attempts to malign India’s image,” Rijiju said.
“We have raised objection to what LoP Rahul Gandhi has said. He is the LoP; how can he claim that the External Affairs Minister went to the US to get the PM invited for President (Trump’s) inauguration? Besides, how can he claim that the Army chief has rejected the PM’s statement? The PM and the system are one, and the PM is the head of the government. Does Rahul Gandhi have no idea that the PM is responsible for the functioning of the country?” he added.
Earlier, Gandhi cited statements from the chief of Army staff to assert that Chinese troops have entered Indian territory.
“Our Chief of Army Staff has said that the Chinese are inside our territory. This is a fact. The reason China is inside our territory is important…The reason China is sitting inside this country is because ‘Make in India’ has failed,” LoP said.
“The reason China sitting inside this country is because India is refusing to produce and I’m worried that India is going to give up this revolution to the Chinese once again…If and when we fight a war with China, we will be fighting with Chinese electric motors, Chinese batteries and Chinese optics and we will be buying Chinese motors, Chinese optics and Chinese batteries,” he added.
Rahul also claimed that if India had a better production system and were looking to develop technologies like AI, the US president would come and invite the Prime Minister.
“Our foreign policy would take into account this revolution. When we talk to the United States, we would not send our foreign minister to invite our Prime Minister to his coronation,” Gandhi said.
“Because if we had a production system and if we were working on these technologies, the American President would come here and invite the Prime Minister,” he added.