New Delhi [India], August 25 : Union Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday hit out at Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, stating that there is a "huge contradiction" between his words and actions.
Meghwal was addressing Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent remarks, where he referred to 2013 when the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi had 'torn' an ordinance brought by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the sake of protecting RJD supreme Lalu Prasad Yadav.
"There is a huge contradiction in Rahul Gandhi's personality between his words and actions. Rahul Gandhi says one thing but does another. There is so much contradiction in his personality," Meghwal told ANI.
The Union Minister said that at one end, Rahul Gandhi talks about corruption and later opposes the Constitution Amendment Bill.
"On one hand, he says that there should be no corruption, and on the other hand, he says that opposition leaders should go to jail and such laws should not be made. This is the contradiction in his thoughts," he said.
Earlier, Amit Shah raised questions over the moral stance of Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, asking whether it has shifted after losing three consecutive elections.
In an interview with ANI, Amit Shah inquired, "Why did Rahul Ji tear the ordinance that Manmohan Singh brought to protect Lalu Ji? If there was morality that day, then what happened now? Just because you have lost three consecutive elections? Morality's standards are not connected with victory or loss in elections. They should be steady like the Sun and the Moon."
In 2013, Rahul Gandhi tore up a copy of the Ordinance passed by then-PM Manmohan Singh, overturning a rule that disqualified convicted MPs and MLAs as members of legislative bodies.
The Congress government at the time had to eventually scrap the Ordinance.
The Congress-led UPA had brought the Ordinance to get around a Supreme Court judgment, barring elected representatives from being members of legislative bodies upon conviction in criminal cases.
However, they were forced to roll back the Ordinance after a public remonstration from the Congress MP, who shredded the piece of paper in the presence of then PM Manmohan Singh, saying that it deserved to be dumped into the bin.
During a hearing in the Lily Thomas vs Union of India case, the Supreme Court ruled that "any MP, MLA or MLC who is convicted of a crime and given a minimum of 2 years' jail loses membership of the House with immediate effect".The UPA government attempted to circumvent this judgment by retaining section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People's Act, which permits lawmakers to remain in office for three months despite conviction.
Two months later, the UPA government passed an Ordinance negating the apex court order.
It was seen widely as a move to protect RJD supremo and UPA ally Lalu Prasad Yadav from disqualification if proved guilty in the 'fodder scam' case.
On September 27, Rahul made a surprise entry at a press event of the Congress in Delhi, days after the Ordinance was passed.
Tearing up the copy of the Ordinance in full public view, Rahul called it 'complete nonsense', adding that it should be "torn and thrown out".