Rahul Gandhi indulging in frivolous rhetoric to stay in headlines: Kiren Rijiju

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday (February 7, 2026) lashed out at Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, whom he accused of indulging in "frivolous rhetoric" to remain in headlines.

Talking to reporters, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, who was here on a day-long tour, asserted that the nation has made "a lot of progress" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people will "never again" repose their trust in the Congress, which had "weakened the country in its 60 years of rule".

He was responding to queries about Mr. Gandhi trying to put the government on the mat, citing remarks on skirmishes with Chinese forces in a book written by former Army Chief M.M. Naravane.

"Rahul Gandhi is merely trying to remain in the headlines by indulging in frivolous rhetoric. However, all this would prove to be of no consequence. The country has made tremendous progress under the leadership of PM Modi. The people will never again repose their trust in the Congress which had weakened the country," he said.

40-50 Opposition MPs barged into Speaker’s chamber before PM’s scheduled speech in Parl: Rijiju

Mr. Rijiju said that “40-50 opposition MPs” had stormed the chamber of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and spoken “in a nasty way” ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled speech in the House.

He also said that he was present inside Birla’s chamber when the exchange took place, and a decision was, therefore, taken that it would be better if the PM did not come to the House.

“We are in power and have sufficient numerical strength. We could have muscled our way through the proceedings by making use of marshals. But we did not want to do that. And therefore, we found a way around the problem,” said the Minister when he was asked about PM Modi’s much talked about absence in the debate on Motion of Thanks to President’s address, which was supposed to conclude after the PM’s speech.

Mr. Rijiju pointed out that the PM did speak at length in the Rajya Sabha.

“We took a different decision in Lok Sabha after 40-50 opposition MPs barged into the Speaker’s chamber and spoke nastily. I was present there. We realised that they were itching to create trouble and it would be better if the Prime Minister stayed away,” he added.