"If he has proof, he should make it public": Manish Tewari on Rijiju's allegations on Rahul Gandhi working with "anti-India" forces

New Delhi [India], August 31 (ANI): Congress MP Manish Tewari vehemently denied Union Minister Kiren Rijiju's allegations that Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is working with "anti-India" forces, specifically George Soros.
In an interview with ANI, Tewari dismissed Rijiju's claims as "absurd" and demanded concrete evidence to support these allegations, questioning Rijiju's credibility as a Union Minister.
"Kiren Rijiju is a Union Minister. Before saying such absurd things, he should have thought them through carefully. If he has proof of this allegation, he should make it public. You cannot make an acquisition like this against anyone," Tewari said.
Tewari said that to make an allegation like this without having any proof against the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and that too against a person from whose family two former prime ministers died for this country, does not augur well for a Union Minister.
"To say that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is working against the country and making acquisitions like this against a person from whose family two former prime ministers were martyred does not augur well for Kiren Rijiju. He has been Minister for the last 11 years. If you expect statemenship from the Opposition, the Ruling alliance should demonstrate it first," he said.
This comes after, in late August 2025, during an interview with ANI and in other public statements, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju made multiple allegations regarding Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party.
Rijiju alleged that Gandhi is on a "dangerous track" and is working in coordination with George Soros, an investor and philanthropist frequently targeted by right-wing figures.
"Rahul Gandhi is going on a very dangerous track. George Soros says that one trillion dollars are kept to destabilise the Indian government. The anti-India Khalistan force sitting in Canada, the US, the UK, and many Left organisations are conspiring to work against the country. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress are working in coordination with them, weakening the country. This is very worrisome. But no one can destabilise the country under PM Modi's leadership," Kiren Rijiju had said.
Rijiju also claimed that Soros's Open Society Foundations are part of a network that includes "anti-India" forces and left-wing organisations conspiring against the country's government.
Rijiju accused the Congress party of attacking Indian institutions like the judiciary and Election Commission after failing to win elections, with the intention of creating instability.
The Union Minister alleged that the Congress party had worked with anti-India groups whenever it failed to win elections. "... When Congress cannot win elections, then they and the forces against India together start attacking the government and the institutions so that the public loses faith in this country's institutions... They have repeatedly said that the judiciary and the Election Commission are sold, to weaken them..." Rijiju told ANI.
Rijiju's claims also drew attention to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an investigative journalism platform that receives partial funding from Soros's foundation. The BJP has previously suggested the OCCRP is part of a foreign plot to destabilise India.
Rijiju further alleged that even Congress MPs are "uncomfortable" with Rahul Gandhi's statements in Parliament, claiming they fear the party will suffer the consequences of his remarks.
However, Congress leaders described Rijiju's claims as a "classic diversion tactic" designed to distract from the government's failures.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi is leading the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar over the issue of "vote theft."
Covering over 1,300 km across 20 districts, the yatra is scheduled to conclude in Patna on September 1.
The high-stakes Bihar assembly elections are expected later this year, although the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not announced an official date. (ANI)