'He speaks language of Pakistan, he should not say anti-national things': Rijiju says Rahul Gandhi misleads people on India's foreign policy

Kiren Rijiju

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged approach to "mislead people by speaking the language of Pakistan".

Rijiju said that Rahul Gandhi should not say anything that is anti-national and criticised the opposition leader's way of attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the foreign policy of the Indian government.

"Parliament is about to begin. Whatever issue comes up in Parliament, we will listen to it. Yesterday I had a very good meeting with Kharge ji and Rahul ji. I keep having regular meetings with leaders of other opposition parties. Being a parliamentary minister, it is my responsibility to maintain coordination with everyone. But whatever the issue is, we can resolve it only by discussing. Nothing will be achieved by creating a ruckus," Rijiju was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"Now you blame the Prime Minister for foreign policy, instead of uniting the country, you speak against the Prime Minister of the country. What does the country gain from this? Opposition does not mean abusing the country. The opposition also has a role in doing good work for the country... When it comes to foreign policy, we should not be divided. During the Congress government, we did not attack the Prime Minister separately on foreign policy," he further said.

Further, Rijiju also said, "The way Rahul Gandhi tries to mislead people on foreign policy by speaking the language of Pakistan, it harms the country. We will suggest to him that as the leader of the opposition, he should not say anything anti-national."

Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Ajay Alok also hit out at the Congress leader for his "circus" jibe at the government's handling of the China issue after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying he does not now "F of foreign policy" but keeps raising questions.