Tawang, Feb 16: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is not interested in the smooth functioning of Parliament and has been influenced by certain NGOs who told him that “good days” would return for his party, prompting him to stall proceedings in the House.
Rijiju said the government will not take any additional steps to “placate” the Congress to ensure normal functioning, adding that he had made several efforts to ease the deadlock, but without success.
“Rahul Gandhi is not interested in running the House. He is interested in creating issues. He was tutored by some NGOs that his party’s good days will return. But that will not happen. In the next Lok Sabha elections, their tally will go down further,” Rijiju told PTI during a visit to his Lok Sabha constituency, Arunachal West.
He said the ruling alliance has tried to defuse tensions, including discussions with senior Congress leader K C Venugopal and others, but claimed the opposition party remains “frustrated” due to repeated electoral defeats.
“We are not going to take extra measures to placate the Congress. The party is desperate to change the situation,” he said.
The Union minister also claimed that smaller opposition parties are unhappy with repeated disruptions, as it affects their allotted time to speak in the House. According to him, not all opposition parties support the Congress on the issue, and some have even refrained from signing the motion against Speaker Om Birla.
Rijiju said several members from other parties have conveyed to him that they want Parliament to function smoothly.
The first part of the Budget Session in the Lok Sabha witnessed frequent disruptions after Gandhi was not allowed by the Chair to quote from an article referring to excerpts of former Army chief M M Naravane’s unpublished memoir, which reportedly mentioned the 2020 India-China conflict.
Eight opposition MPs were suspended for the remainder of the session over unruly behaviour. The opposition also moved a no-confidence motion seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of acting in a “blatantly partisan” manner.
The Budget Session began with the President’s address to a joint sitting of Parliament on January 28, and the Union Budget 2026 was presented on February 1. The House adjourned on February 12 and will reconvene on March 9, with the session scheduled to conclude on April 2. (Agencies)
