"Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation; he considers himself above Parliament": Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI): Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday hit out at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for allegedly violating parliamentary rules during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, saying that despite repeated rulings by the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Congress leader continued to challenge the Chair and digressed from the subject, including raising the issue of the China border.
"Our party initiated the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. All of us were seated to hear the speech of LoP Rahul Gandhi. But right from the beginning, Rahul Gandhi flouted rules and started quoting from a book whose publication and authenticity of a book is not clearly mentioned. Defence Minister and all of us said that the House will function as per rules and one should speak as per rules...One cannot challenge the Chair. Even after the ruling of the Lok Sabha Speaker, Rahul Gandhi kept repeating the same mistake...He wasted half an hour, violated the rules and kept saying the same thing. He started speaking on China border...Can the Congress party bring back the landmass that was captured by China in 1959 and 1962?" he said while speaking to ANI.
Rijiju demanded an apology from the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of placing himself above Parliament and repeatedly violating its rules.
Rijiju said India functions as a democracy governed by procedure, and alleged that Congress leaders encouraged the disruption, and asserted that Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation over the party's "sins" related to the China border issue.
"Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation...If someone is born in a known family, are they above the Parliament? Are they above the rules? India is a democratic nation and functions as per rules...Rahul Gandhi doesn't follow any rules. He considers himself above Parliament. Senior Congress leaders got up and started clapping...Rahul Gandhi should use his brain and make his MPs understand to follow the rules. That is my request to him. He should apologise for the sin of Congress with respect to the China border...," he added.
Earlier today, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi challenged the central government over its objections to his attempt to quote from a report that cited an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane, asking why the government was "so scared" of the content, insisting on reading excerpts related to the Doklam standoff, which he said highlight true patriotism.
The Lok Sabha witnessed sharp verbal exchanges during the Budget Session after Gandhi sought to quote a magazine article containing excerpts from the unpublished memoir of former Indian Army chief General MM Naravane.
During the motion of thanks on the President's Address, the Leader of Opposition said, "What does it contain which is scaring them so much? If they are not scared, I should be allowed to read on."
Gandhi's reply during the motion of thanks on the President's Address was interrupted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who raised concern about the fact that the Congress MP cannot quote from an unpublished book, which he said has not been authenticated. (ANI)