NEW DELHI: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his recent remarks made during a visit to Colombia, claiming that he is the first leader of opposition (LoP) to speak against India on foreign soil. In an interview to ANI, the parliamentary affairs minister said, “Even Indira Gandhi ji was LoP after losing elections, but she never spoke about the country outside. All other LoPs after her – whether it is Lal Krishna Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sushma Swaraj, Sharad Pawar – never did that.”“Show me one LoP who has ever gone outside India and made statements against the country or the Government. Rahul Gandhi is the first LoP who goes abroad and speaks against the country, our system and our democracy,” Rijiju added.The remarks come after Rahul, while speaking at an event at EIA University in Colombia on Thursday, said, “India has strong capabilities in areas like engineering and healthcare, so I am very optimistic about the country. But at the same time, there are also flaws in the structure that India has to correct. The biggest challenge is the attack on democracy taking place in India.”Rijiju alleged that Rahul’s comments misrepresent India and could harm its global image. “Our LoP went abroad and said that India cannot be a global leader. The problem is that if people abroad get the impression that everyone in India is like Rahul Gandhi, it would tarnish the country’s reputation,” he said.“There are intelligent people in our country, we have good leaders and people with good ideology. But if Rahul Gandhi speaks like this, people would think that such people are higher in number in India. This is not right,” Rijiju added.The Union minister also rejected Congress’s allegations of curbs on free speech, saying that the party was misusing the idea of freedom of expression for political purposes. “From morning to evening, they keep on abusing PM Modi and say there is no freedom to speak. They want to misuse this freedom of expression to such an extent that they want to split the nation,” he said.Rijiju further claimed that some leaders advocating for free speech are those who, according to him, have supported divisive causes. “Those who talk about freedom of speech are the people who want to separate Jammu and Kashmir and the North East from the nation,” he said.He emphasised that the BJP’s response to Rahul’s remarks is not personal. “We have nothing to do with him personally. He is LoP… If he speaks irresponsibly, we will not like it,” Rijiju said.
