ITANAGAR : Indian Youth Congress (IYC) National General Secretary and North East Youth Congress Coordination Committee Chairman Tarh Johny on Thursday criticised Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju over his remarks against Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi during Parliament proceedings, alleging that the Union minister was acting as a political defender of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) instead of discharging his constitutional responsibilities.
In a statement, Johny said the Parliamentary Affairs Minister’s primary responsibility is to facilitate democratic debate, ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament and provide equal space to both the Treasury and Opposition benches, rather than function as a political spokesperson for the ruling party.
He alleged that instead of responding to issues raised by the Opposition, particularly those concerning students, examination-related matters and protests, the government had resorted to personal attacks.
“The answer to an allegation cannot be a personal attack on the person raising the question. Answer the question, do not attack the questioner,” Johny said.
He asserted that the Leader of the Opposition has every democratic right to question the government and that disagreement should not be used to undermine the Opposition’s role in Parliament.
Johny also said Parliament belongs to the people of India and not to any political party, adding that every elected representative has the right to raise public issues while the government has a responsibility to respond.
He further stated that if any remarks were considered unparliamentary, established parliamentary procedures should be followed instead of resorting to what he described as “selective outrage, political grandstanding and personal attacks.”
Referring to Rijiju’s role as the Member of Parliament from Arunachal West, Johny said the people of Arunachal Pradesh had elected him to represent the interests of the state, raise the concerns of the Northeast and uphold democratic institutions.
He alleged that Rijiju appeared more focused on defending the Modi government than safeguarding the dignity and democratic functioning of Parliament.
Stating that the central issue was the government’s accountability, Johny said Parliament needed answers to questions raised by the Opposition, while students deserved justice and democratic institutions required greater accountability.
