NEW DELHI: Union Parliamentary Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday hit out at Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks on the Indian Army after a clash between the Indian and Chinese armies in the Yangsi region of Arunachal Pradesh in 2022.
The Union Minister, who is a Lok Sabha MP from the Arunachal West constituency, said that Rahul Gandhi must stop irresponsible remarks.
Rahul Gandhi allegedly claimed that China had captured 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory, which Rijiju dismissed as illogical. The Union Minister emphasised that the Indian Army, the Defence Minister, and the Prime Minister have consistently stated that there is a boundary dispute, but no Chinese incursion into Indian territory.
“Rahul Gandhi repeatedly publicly claimed that China has captured India’s territory. Our army, Defence Minister and Prime Minister had already said that there is a boundary dispute, but no one has come inside our country and captured our lands… Claiming that 2000 square km of land is captured is illogical. He is the Leader of Opposition; he should say every sentence responsibly. Rahul must stop irresponsible remarks,” Rijiju told mediapersons.
This comes after a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih in the Supreme Court expressed disapproval of Gandhi’s remarks, saying, “How does he know the Chinese occupied 2000 square kilometres of land?” adding that a true Indian wouldn’t say such a thing.
Justice Datta said, “How do you get to know that China occupied 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory? What is the credible material? If you were a true indian, you would not say this. When there is a conflict across borders… can you say all this?”
The bench also asked senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, why Gandhi didn’t say all this in Parliament and why on social media. “Whatever you have to say, why don’t you say it in Parliament? Why do you have to say this in the social media posts?” asked Justice Datta.
Meanwhile, the apex court also stayed further proceedings before the trial court in the case and issued notice to the complainant, former Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director Uday Shankar Srivastava.
The Union Minister hit out at the opposition party leaders for raising slogans in Lok Sabha, saying that the opposition is wasting the time of the house.
“Looking at the state of affairs in the House today, I am sad. All parties had agreed to discuss and pass the National Sports Governance Bill and the National Anti-Doping Amendment Bill. At the Opposition’s request, we agreed to allocate two days for discussing these bills. Now that we have brought this important bill for sports persons, the Opposition is causing disruption… The Sports Minister is also ready for discussion… You not only do not say what you want to say, but also waste the time of the House,” the Union Minister said.
He also informed that the Rajya Sabha today decided to adjourn for the whole day due to the demise of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren.
