NEW DELHI: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday offered what he called a “friendly advice” to the Congress, saying the opposition party needs a “matured LoP” or risk continuing to lose elections.His remarks came days after he shared a seven-point list of “suggestions” for Congress MP and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, in which he took a swipe at the party and said it could win more seats in Parliament if it followed Rijiju’s “advice.”Also Read | ‘Respect seniors, end BJP-RSS hatred’: Rijiju’s seven-point advice to Rahul Gandhi“Do not take it negatively. I’m giving friendly advice as a political rival, not as an enemy. A strong opposition is good for India. Need matured LoP like Vajpayee ji, Advani ji, Sushma ji, Jaitley ji. Otherwise Congress will lose further and keep raising bogus Vote Chori,” Rijiju wrote on X, quote-posting his November 4 post and referring to BJP stalwarts who had previously served as leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
Rijiju X post
The exchange comes amid a political row over Rahul Gandhi’s challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a face-to-face debate. He issued the challenge after the Prime Minister, addressing an event in Gujarat on October 31 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first home minister, asked, “Who is secretly meeting whom abroad?”The remark was seen as a reference to Rahul Gandhi’s foreign visits. In response, he challenged PM Modi to a debate and has reiterated the demand several times since.Addressing the Congress’ “Insaaf Rally” in Punjab’s Sangrur on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi had asserted that he could prove “within five minutes” of a debate that PM Modi was a ‘desh-drohi’ (traitor) and was being “controlled” by US President Donald Trump.
He had also offered the Prime Minister the freedom to choose the judge and venue for the proposed debate, expressing confidence that the challenge would not be accepted.Union home minister Amit Shah, however, challenged Rahul Gandhi to raise the issue in Parliament, questioning the substance of the opposition’s allegations.“If you (Rahul Gandhi) wish to engage in a responsible discussion, if your concerns hold truth, substance, and logic, then come and discuss them inside Parliament. Let’s face each other head-on! But you won’t be able to handle the answers; as always, you will just run away,” Shah remarked at a rally in Karnal, Haryana, as part of the BJP’s “Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy” campaign.(With ANI inputs)