'Being in Opposition does not mean opposing nation': Rijiju attacks Rahul Gandhi over his 'Narender surrender' remark

Addressing a party convention in Bhopal, Rahul Gandhi said the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, didn’t budge in the 1971 war despite the US sending its Seventh Fleet.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's viral 'Narender surrender' remark on Operation Sindoor.

“There is also a limit to stupidity and opposition! There’s nobody in the Congress Party to tell him that being in the Opposition Party does not mean, to oppose the nation,” Rijiju posted on X.

Rijiju retweeted a post lauding former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who criticised Rahul Gandhi’s policies and said he wanted to become the Prime Minister after working for only 20 minutes.

!Theres nobody in Congress Party to tell him that being in the Opposition Party does not mean, to oppose the nation? https://t.co/0Y2rtJRjBC pic.twitter.com/2oUNxAnlPA
Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) June 5, 2025

Gandhi recently alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi surrendered after a call from US President Donald Trump during the India-Pakistan military conflict. His remarks resulted in BJP accusing him of speaking Pakistan’s language.  The Congress also doubled down on the remarks by posting an image of a Trump MAGA cap, which said, “Narender Surrender".

Addressing a party convention in Bhopal, Gandhi said the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, didn’t budge in the 1971 war despite the US sending its Seventh Fleet.

“A call came from Trump and Narendra ji immediately surrendered – history is a witness, this is the character of BJP-RSS, they always bow down," Rahul stated after launching the Congress’s ‘Sangthan Srijan Abhiyan’ in Bhopal.

The BJP reacted sharply to Gandhi's comments. “By making extremely cheap, low-level statements, the self-proclaimed, self-styled, supreme leader, the leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is telling the world that even after becoming the LoP, he lacks the seriousness and maturity that the post requires," said BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi.

BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya, in an X post, said even Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who was part of India’s diplomatic outreach, said India never asked anyone to mediate in its conflict with Pakistan. It was Pakistan who requested India to stop its operation.

"History will remember: From Doklam to Pahalgam, whenever India stood united to defend its sovereignty and rise as a global power, Rahul Gandhi, true to the legacy of his lineage, chose to stand with forces opposed to India’s political and economic resurgence," said Malviya.