‘Parliament is supreme forum’: Amit Shah counters Rahul Gandhi’s public debate call, accuses Congress of disrupting proceedings

Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of disrupting parliamentary proceedings, avoiding discussions on substantive issues and turning walkouts and protests into the Congress party's political culture.

Amit Shah said the government was willing to discuss all matters in Parliament. Rahul Gandhi said that the Opposition was "not interested". (PTI)Shah asserted that Parliament is the supreme forum for democratic debate and criticised Gandhi for taking political confrontations to the streets instead of engaging in discussions inside the House.

Shah's remarks come after Gandhi called for a public debate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Opposition continues its protest against the Election Commission and the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

At BJP's 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' foot march in Karnal, Amit Shah highlighted the mandate received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 elections and accused the Congress leadership of converting legislative disruption into standard party culture.

"Today, I want to explain why we have been compelled to organise this rally. For the third consecutive time, the people of this country have elected Narendra Modi as Prime Minister with a massive mandate. Since 2024, the Congress party has faced repeated defeats under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi," Shah said.

Shah asserted that the LoP, Rahul Gandhi, does not allow Parliamentary proceedings to run smoothly. "In a democracy, Parliament is the supreme forum for debate; yet, Rahul Gandhi, you do not allow Parliament to function.

You refuse to engage in discussions on substantive issues, having instead turned the creation of a ruckus and the staging of walkouts into the very culture of the Congress party. You prevent Parliament from operating, choosing instead to gather crowds on the streets and spread anarchy, much like an anarchist," he said.

There was no immediate response from Rahul Gandhi on Amit Shah's remarks. Shah declared that the BJP is fully prepared to counter the opposition across all arenas, and said, “Do you truly believe that an 80-year-old democracy will fall for your deceptions?

Rahul ji, we are the people of the streets. The BJP will provide a fitting response to you in Parliament, in the Legislative Assemblies, in our villages, and in our fields; and should you choose to gather crowds, BJP workers will be there to give you a befitting reply.

The 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' rally has served to deliver a strong and decisive response to Rahul Gandhi.” After challenging PM Modi and Amit Shah for a debate on Monday, Gandhi made a call for the second time on Tuesday, asking the PM to choose any venue for the open discussion.

On X, Gandhi said the debate should be held in the presence of the media and young people. He also suggested that anyone chosen by Modi, including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, could moderate the discussion.

"It has been 24 hours, Modi ji. I have challenged you. You say that the Opposition is anti-national. Pick any stage, any venue, and debate me. Who is anti-national? Who has links with foreign forces and what kind of connections are they?" Gandhi said in Hindi.

"Do it as soon as possible. Don't be afraid," he added. Gandhi said the discussion should cover the country's financial system and financial structure. He also questioned how the US deal was negotiated, why it was finalised in a hurry and why the Cabinet was allegedly not informed about it.

"Why did you take this decision alone? Why wasn't the Cabinet informed? Why was the (Gautam) Adani case closed? What about (Jeffrey) Epstein?" Gandhi asked Follow the latest breaking news, major developments and agenda-setting stories from India and around the world with the newsdesk at Hindustan Times.

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