Rijiju Lashes Out At Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha Remarks On Jaishankar’s Visit To Trump Inauguration
Rahul Gandhi said EAM Jaishankar went to Donald Trump’s inauguration to seek an invitation to the White House from the US President.
The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated exchange on Monday during the Budget Session after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi claimed that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was sent to the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in Washington to secure an invitation to the US for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“When we talk to the United States, we would not send our foreign minister to invite our Prime Minister to his coronation…Because if we had a production system and if we were working on these technologies, the American President would come here and invite the Prime Minister," Rahul Gandhi said, while claiming that Indian industries are lagging behind China in terms of data.
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The remark angered the treasury benches and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju strongly opposed the statement.
Rijiju said that “such an unsubstantiated claim" regarding India’s foreign policy could not be allowed in the parliament.
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“The Leader of Opposition cannot make such a serious unsubstantial statement. This concerns the relationship between two countries, and he is making an unverified claim about the Prime Minister’s invitation," Rijiju said.
Following the exchange in the Lok Sabha, Rijiju met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking action against Rahul Gandhi. Sources speaking to News18 said he may ask for Gandhi to either substantiate his claim or have his statement expunged from the parliamentary records.
Responding to Rijiju’s objections, Rahul Gandhi remarked, “I apologize for disturbing your peace of mind".
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