New Delhi, Aug 4: As the Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his alleged remarks disparaging the Indian Army, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also criticised the Congress MP, calling his statements an “irresponsible claim”.
The controversy stems from a comment Gandhi made during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he allegedly said, “Chinese troops are thrashing Indian Army soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh,” in reference to the December 9, 2022, face-off in the Tawang sector.
Taking to X, Rijiju wrote, “Supreme Court rebukes Shri Rahul Gandhi for irresponsible claim that Chinese occupied Indian Territory!” He added a direct quote from the court proceedings: “SC: How do you know 2000 Sqr km of Indian territory were occupied by Chinese? A true Indian will not say this.” Rijiju also reshared a video clip from a previous Lok Sabha session in which he had strongly dismissed Gandhi’s remarks. Sharing the clip, he stated, “There should be no confusion due to the false narratives of Congress, and left ecosystem with regards to India’s boundaries.”
A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Joymalya Bagchi expressed disapproval of Rahul Gandhi’s claim that 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory had been occupied by China, adding that “if he were a true Indian, he would not have said all this.”
“How do you know that 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory were occupied by the Chinese? Were you there? Do you have any credible material? If you were a true Indian, you would not say all this. When there is a conflict across the order, is it unusual to have casualties on both sides?” the Justice Datta-led Bench asked senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Rahul Gandhi.
“Whatever you have to say, why don’t you say it in the Parliament? Why do you have to say this in social media posts?” further asked the Apex Court. The remarks came after Singhvi argued that it would be an “unfortunate situation” if an opposition leader cannot be allowed to raise issues of national concern in the press.
IANS