Union Minister Kiren Rijiju speaks to NDTV on 100 days of Modi 3.0
On completing the first 100 days of the National Democratic Alliance's third consecutive term, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tore into Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, calling the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha a person "who does not know the role of an Opposition leader."
Mr Rijiju was among an armada of Union Ministers who addressed the media today to inform what all has been achieved in the first 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term, or Modi 3.0. Today is also PM Modi's 74th birthday.
Mr Rijiju began his offensive by giving an overall picture of why, according to him, Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party "do not care".
"The Congress initially thought that from 54 seats, they had got 99 seats [in this year's national election]. So they have enhanced their power... What they did not realise is that they could not win three-digit seats for a third consecutive term," Mr Rijiju told NDTV.
"In any other democratic set-up, no leader will be allowed to lead the party if he loses three consecutive elections. Suppose, if I lose elections after elections, then my party will change the candidate. If Modi ji doesn't win elections for three terms, he would not be Prime Minister again. But for the Congress party, it doesn't matter if they win or lose. The same Rahul Gandhi is the leader, the boss, everything. That is why he doesn't care. He knows that let other people go to the docks. He will still continue to be the leader of the Congress party," Mr Rijiju told NDTV.
"That is why we feel that India deserves a better, more efficient and more effective opposition party. As Parliamentary Affairs Minister I am very disappointed with the Congress's performance in parliament and outside as an Opposition party. They are not talking about economic policies, government's implementation of schemes.
"Instead, they are saying democracy has been killed. Democracy was killed by Congress in 1975. They are talking about how the judiciary has been hijacked. Judiciary was hijacked by the Congress when three top senior judges were superseded and their junior was made the Chief Justice of India. Judiciary was captured when 17 judges of the high court were transferred with a single stroke of the pen by the Congress party. They don't realise that," said Mr Rijiju, who was Union Law Minister in the previous NDA term.
"I really wanted the Congress party, after getting the title of Leader of the Opposition, to perform better with more responsibilities. The most unfortunate, not for me, for the Indian parliamentary democracy, is that Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is unable to perform his duty. Not only has he failed in his duty, but he has miserably misused his position," the Union Minister told NDTV.
"The Leader of the Opposition tells the Speaker that his mic is switched off. Anybody in parliament knows your mic is switched on when your turn comes, when the Speaker calls a particular member of parliament, his or her mic will be turned on... Now Rahul Gandhi shouts his lungs out and tells the world he's not allowed to speak. The person who speaks the most says he is not allowed to speak," Mr Rijiju said.
He said Rahul Gandhi goes to the UK and America and elsewhere and abuses the country's systems.
"The country's systems are functioning well. It is only the Congress party which is not functioning well. That is why we are in a situation where we have an opposition party which is not performing as an Opposition party. We have a Leader of Opposition in parliament who doesn't know what's the role of the LoP," the Union Minister said.
"That's why I want to advise the Congress, we may be adversaries... In the strict sense of political democracy, we are not enemies. Why are you treating the government as if it's untouchable, why are you abusing PM Modi ji day and night? In a democracy, all ideologies have their own place, whichever ideology people accept forms the government," Mr Rijiju said.
"Congress says BJP ideology is not acceptable. It may be unacceptable to them, but people have accepted it. They have not come to terms with it. They were rejected and we were elected," Mr Rijiju told NDTV.