New Delhi, March 10 Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday criticized Union Minister Kiren Rijiju for quoting Jawaharlal Nehru during a debate on a resolution seeking the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, saying those who criticize India's first prime minister day and night are now citing his remarks.
Intervening in the debate, Rijiju cited Nehru's remarks during the 1954 debate on the resolution to remove then Speaker G V Mavalankar.
"I would humbly request the members sitting opposite, those who have signed it, and those who have supported it out of a sense of duty, to read that document which they have signed. It is a vicious document they have signed. I doubt whether the people have read it before signing it. If they had read it, they would have hesitated a hundred times before signing that document," Nehru was quoted as saying by Rijiju.
Rijiju also criticized the Congress, saying that if Priyanka Gandhi had been made the Leader of the Opposition, the performance would have been better.
"Priyanka Gandhi is sitting there and laughing. If they had made her the LoP, the performance would have been better. At least she sits in the House, listens, and smiles," he said.
After Rijiju's remarks, Priyanka Gandhi said, "He (Rijiju) mentioned that I was laughing. I wanted to clarify that I was laughing because of Nehru, whom they keep criticizing day and night, and they are using a quote of Nehru for their own argument."
"They have suddenly started respecting Nehru and saying that he strengthened democracy and gave such a speech," she said.
Priyanka Gandhi asserted that there is only one person who has not bowed before the government, and that is the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi.
"The LoP speaks the truth in this House without any hesitation, and those sitting on the treasury benches are unable to digest that truth," she said.
Later, speaking with reporters in the Parliament House complex, she alleged that the government has bowed before the US by signing a deal.
The Congress leader alleged that the BJP had ruined institutions, and the opposition was trying to save them. She said that the resolution needed to be brought because the government had pressured Birla and hindered his independence.
Priyanka Gandhi said that the government has no answers to the questions raised by Rahul Gandhi and therefore keep raising inconsequential issues to divert attention.