Congress left no opportunity to divide India, Rijiju slams Rahul over jibe

Union law minister Kiren Rijiju called the Congress "the antithesis of freedom, democracy and respect for institutions" after former Congress chief and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at the Centre over "crushing the truth". Rahul Gandhi immediately took to Twitter to share the news of Supreme Court's order on sedition law while training his guns on the BJP-led union government, without naming anyone. "Speaking the truth is patriotism, not treason.Speaking the truth is love for the nation, not treason. Listening to the truth is the duty to the nation. Crushing the truth is arrogance towards the nation," he wrote in Hindi while sharing the news

In a series of tweets,Rijiju hit out Gandhi, pointing out instances when the grand old party and its celebrated leaders were less than exemplars of free speech. This Party has always stood with Breaking India forces and left no opportunity to divide India," the minister tweeted while quoting Gandhi's jibe.

Empty words by @RahulGandhi

If there is one party that is the antithesis of freedom, democracy and respect for institutions, it is the Indian National Congress.

This Party has always stood with Breaking India forces and left no opportunity to divide India. https://t.co/Rajl1pG2v8

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 11, 2022

He went on to mention the first amendment to the Constitution brought in by the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It sought to limit the fundamental rights to protect against "abuse of freedom of speech and expression". Rijiju also mentioned that Nehru had dismissed the elected government of Kerala. He then referred to former PM Indira Gandhi's imposition of the Emergency, frequently using Article 356 which gives the Centre control over states, and her attempts to weaken the judiciary.

And
When it comes to trampling over free speech, Mrs Indira Gandhi Ji is a Gold Medal Winner! We all know about the Emergency but do you also know she imposed Article 356 over 50 times! She came up with the idea of a “Committed Judiciary” to weaken the Judiciary, our 3rd pillar!

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 11, 2022

Rijiju also pointed out that "it was the Indira Gandhi Government which made Section 124A a cognisable offence for the first time in India's history". In more recent examples, he targetted former Congress minister in the UPA P Chidambaram, saying it "has the worst track record of filing sedition cases"