New Delhi [India], August 23 : Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday slammed the Congress and other opposition parties for creating ruckus in Parliament, claiming that MPs were given orders from their party leaders to go and do anything to make a ruckus.
His remarks came after the monsoon session of Parliament witnessed continuous disruptions by Opposition MPs, who tore up a bill that sought the removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and ministers facing serious criminal charges.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Rijiju said that Opposition MPs were acting on instructions of their party leaders to create a ruckus and grab headlines. "Inn logo ko upar se order diya hai unke party ke leaders ne ki jaa kar ke kuch bhi karo, hungama karo, aur headline batorna hai."
The minister added that he had repeatedly urged them to maintain dignity inside the House. "I told them many times that it is not right to throw papers like this... They have crossed all limits... They came down and grabbed the Home Minister's mic. We told them to shout as much as they want, but to avoid touching anything. If there is a scuffle, then the country will be disgraced... These people (Opposition MPs) have been given orders from their party leaders to go and do anything, create a ruckus, and grab headlines," the Union Minister told ANI.
Speaking about Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, he said, "Rahul Gandhi is the LoP and I don't want to criticise him. The SC scolded him when he called the PM 'chor', spoke nonsense regarding Rafael, and claimed that China occupied our land. He should speak like an Indian. I am no one to improve Rahul Gandhi. He will not listen... Whenever Rahul Gandhi says something, all his MPs become very uncomfortable. They are afraid that they will speak nonsense, and the party will have to pay the price for it. In a democracy, the Opposition should be strong... They are not able to perform basic duties of an Opposition, let alone a strong Opposition."
Rijiju further claimed that Opposition MPs themselves admitted they wanted discussions but were stopped by their leadership. "Unke (Opposition) MP aa kar batate hain ki hum discussion chahte hain lekin upar se order aaya ki hungama karo, debate mein participate mat karo," he said.
He also denied allegations that the government ignored the Opposition. "... Their MPs come and tell us that we want a discussion, but orders have come from above to create a ruckus and not to participate in the debate... We discuss forming committees with each other. We speak outside the Parliament. They come to my home. I visit Kharge Ji's home. I met Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders. It is wrong that the government does not reach out. We go to the Opposition with joined hands," he told.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha faced continuous disruptions during the monsoon session over the opposition's demand for a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
On Thursday, with both the Houses witnessing repeated adjournments due to disruptions throughout the session, which concluded, the productivity of Lok Sabha was about 31% and that of Rajya Sabha was about 39%. In the Lok Sabha, discussions could happen for only 37 hours out of the total available 120 hours and in the Rajya Sabha, discussions took place for 41 hours and 15 minutes. A total of 15 bills were passed by Parliament during the session.