New Delhi, March 10 Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, saying that the leader of the opposition will be interrupted 200 times, not 20, while speaking in the Lok Sabha if he promotes an "anti-India" agenda.
Participating in a debate on the resolution to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla from office, Shinde expressed his support for Birla and criticized the opposition's behavior.
He said that Gandhi was more concerned about knowing how many planes were shot down in Pakistan instead of the success of the armed forces in May last year.
"In his remarks, Gaurav Gogoi said that Gandhi was interrupted 20 times while speaking on the motion of thanks to the President's address. I would like to tell him that we will interrupt you 200 times if you speak against the country," Shinde said.
"Their policy is anti-India. Gandhi's speeches are shown in Pakistan. His interest was in how many planes did Pakistan shoot down and tell that to the world, rather than the success of Operation Sindoor," Shinde said.
"Gogoi called the PM weak. No country signs an FTA with a weak country. The US and EU have signed a trade pact with us," he said.
Attacking Gandhi, Shinde said that the LoP never raises issues during question hour or zero hour, and has not even introduced a single private member's bill in his stint in the Lok Sabha.
"Whenever important bills are debated, the LoP is absent from the House," the Shiv Sena MP claimed.
Later, intervening in the debate, Union minister Chirag Paswan said he was saddened to note that the opposition is so deprived of issues that from among all the important matters, they have come up with this resolution.
"The achievements and policies of the government have been such over the last 11 years, probably they have nothing much to raise," the leader of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) said.
Paswan also accused the Congress of not giving B R Ambedkar the respect he deserved.
"I want to ask the LoP and other opposition leaders, what respect they have shown to Ambedkar. If someone has insulted Ambedkar the most, it is the Congress. They talk of respecting the Constitution, why did they not put up any picture of Ambedkar in the House. There was an image of three members of the same family when they were in power," he said.
He pointed out that Bharat Ratna was given to Ambedkar by a non-Congress government.
"If they (Congress) cannot respect the architect of the Constitution, what respect will they show to the Constitution. They keep (copy of) Constitution in pockets and waive it in political meetings. The Congress will tell us how to respect the Constitution? They trampled upon it when they imposed the Emergency?" Paswan said.
"Jaiprakash Narayan had said 'singhasan khali karo, janta aati hai'. Today the PM is doing the same job with people's support to make a Congress-mukt bharat because your behavior is such," he said, slamming the opposition party.
At the AI Impact Summit where people came from across the world and heads of state hailed India, there the Congress people insulted the country, he said.
Paswan went on to highlight the achievements of PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government. He said the opposition is concerned with its right to speak, but is not taking care of its duties.