'Spend more time in India, avoid secret foreign trips': Kiren Rijiju's seven-point advice to Rahul Gandhi

In posts on X, Rijiju laid out a checklist of conditions that he claimed would help the Opposition party 'win more MPs' in parliament

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, laying down seven conditions that he claimed could help the opposition party increase its strength in Parliament.

In a message directed at Rahul, Rijiju suggested that the Congress leader should spend more time in India, stay away from people he described as anti-India and give up dynastic politics.

Rijiju's offensive comes amid an escalating war of words triggered by Rahul on Wednesday when he once again dared PM Modi to an open debate and claimed he could prove within five minutes that the prime minister was a "traitor", a charge that also drew a sharp rebuttal from finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

In an X post late on Wednesday, Rijiju said Congress can "win more MPs" if Rahul Gandhi meets seven conditions.

Listing the conditions, Rijiju said Gandhi should "spend more time in India and avoid secret foreign vacations frequently".

He also asked the Congress leader to respect seniors and gain valuable wisdom from the elders, which is Indian tradition.

The senior BJP leader advised the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha not to meet "anti-India people and stop promoting their agenda".

As the fourth condition, the minister asked Rahul to "end deep hatred against BJP, RSS and Modi Ji" and "treat BJP as political opponent, not enemy".

He also asked the Congress leader to take Parliament "more seriously" and let MPs take part in debates and discussion.

"Respect Constitution of India, and honour Constitutional Institutions, and allow Congress party to function as a democratic party and smash dynastic politics," he listed them as the last two conditions.

In the video, Rijiju is heard questioning the Opposition benches in Hindi over repeated house disruptions, asking why they had wasted the time of the house for so many days if they lacked the courage to listen to the truth.

Earlier in the day, Rijiju posted a video clip of his speech in Parliament when the opposition leaders had walked out of the House.

"Parliament is the House for debates & discussion. But people who don't believe in democracy, debates and discussion are talking about debate," the parliamentary affairs minister said.

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday once again dared Prime Minister Modi to debate him openly and said he would prove in five minutes that the PM was a "traitor".

After his challenge, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the prime minister should come forward and face the questions on "vote theft" that the nation was posing.

"PM Modi is parroting his flop line of Dimaagi Naxal'! He has NO answer on Vote Chori and the Open Challenge by Rahul Gandhi to discuss how he mortgaged Indian interests to Foreign powers!" Kharge said.

Rijiju hit back in a post on X, saying, "Kharge Ji, Dimaagi Naxal is a term not a narrative. Only following are Dimaagi Naxals: Who support Maoists agenda, and reject Indian Constitution. Who stand with the separatists & support Article 370. Who want to stop the development projects of India. Who conspire to cut chicken neck to separate North-East from India."

Rahul on Tuesday challenged Modi to an open debate on his charge that the opposition is anti-national and asked why the prime minister has not filed a defamation case against him over his foreign connections allegation.

He accused Modi of occupying the PM's chair with foreign help, within a day of his earlier challenge for an open debate with the prime minister for accusing the opposition of taking foreign help to destabilise the country.