New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday demanded that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi apologise for a remark made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a Lok Sabha debate.
Rahul Gandhi, speaking in a discussion on women’s reservation and constituency delimitation, referred to the Prime Minister as a “magician”, drawing strong objections from BJP MPs and Union ministers.
Rajnath Singh said the expression used by the Leader of the Opposition was “highly unfortunate” and deserved the strongest condemnation. He argued that repeatedly using such a term amounted to criticising the people of the country who had elected the Prime Minister.
He further said the word should be expunged from the House records and reiterated that Rahul Gandhi must apologise.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also criticised Rahul Gandhi, alleging he had made a misleading statement. Rijiju objected to Rahul’s reported call for parliamentary reservation for OBCs and religious minorities, and questioned why the Congress, which ruled for decades, did not provide such reservation for OBCs under the Constitution. He also claimed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had opposed OBC reservation and asked Rahul Gandhi to explain why.
