India is not Cong's fiefdom anymore: Kiren Rijiju slams Rahul over UK remarks

New Delhi: Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on India in the UK and said that citizens cannot remain silent over the "defamation" of the country.

In a veiled attack against Congress, Rijiju said that India is not their "fiefdom" anymore and the grand old party cannot digest this fact.

While talking to ANI, Rijiju said, "If Rahul Gandhi says something and Congress gets into trouble because of that, we have nothing to do with it. But if he defames our country, then as the citizens of this country, we can't be quiet."

He added, " Abuse us as much as you want but we can't let you insult the nation. Rahul has insulted the judiciary, our judicial system is a robust one. The only demand is that Rahul will have to apologize to the country for insulting it. India is not their fiefdom anymore, they can't digest this fact."

He further added that Rahul can say whatever he wants but nobody can insult the country.

"I'm an MP elected to the Parliament so how can I keep quiet," he further added.

"Congress and Rahul have been rejected by the people of this country. He has undermined the reputation of our democracy and Parliament..it is not acceptable," he stated.

Rijiju alleged that Rahul lied that he wasn't allowed to speak in Parliament. "He (Rahul) led a yatra as per the wishes - then he is saying, he wasn't allowed to speak?"

"Being an MP in Parliament he (Rahul) has shamed the Parliament, that's most unfortunate," Rijiju said.

RijijU further said, "All anti-India forces speak the same language- Rahul speaks the same language as them."

"Modi became a Prime Minister because of the blessings of the people of the country. Talking about the representative of 140 crore Indians is unacceptable," he stated.

On Wednesday, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha faced disruptions for the third successive day with Congress and other opposition parties insisting on their demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row and the BJP members seeking an apology from Rahul Gandhi over his remarks made in London.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a lecture at Cambridge University in London recently, said, "Everybody knows and it's been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space."

"The institutional framework which is required for a democratic Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy," he had added.