Rijiju Takes a Swipe at Rahul Gandhi Over PM Debate Challenge

New Delhi: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to an open debate over the issue of "foreign help", saying it is the same as "Islamic fundamentalists talking about secularism".

"Top level debates are done between matured people (sic)," he said on X.

Gandhi on Monday hit back at the prime minister for accusing the opposition of taking foreign help to destabilise the country and challenged him to an open debate on the issue. In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha had also accused Modi of occupying the prime minister's chair with "foreign help".

Reacting to Gandhi's post, Rijiju said, "It's same as Islamic fundamentalists talking about secularism, separatists holding Indian flags and anarchists showing Constitution book."

"Pushing agendas of India's enemies yet accusing others of foreign support is self-ridiculing," the senior BJP leader said.

During his Gujarat visit on Saturday, Modi had said, "When the country was seeking solutions to external challenges, some forces within the country were also creating instability by spreading lies and rumours. But the countrymen stood shoulder to shoulder with the nation."

In a veiled reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's foreign trips, he said, "Due to the frustration of more than a decade, these people have now come out in the open. Who is secretly meeting whom abroad? Whom are the anti-India forces supporting? Who is speaking the language of India's enemies? We will have to recognise all these patterns."