Nirmala Sitharaman flays Rahul Gandhi for remarks abroad, wonders why DMK is silent

COIMBATORE: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his controversial remarks abroad and asked if the Congress party endorsed his statements, especially those on Sikhs.

Stating that as Leader of the Opposition, he should not have misused his freedom of expression to meet those working against the interest of India, and speaking against the country, she said the Congress party should explain if it endorsed his views especially those on Sikhs.

"It's nothing but a bad time... You can criticise the BJP, the Prime Minister and the government and we are prepared to respond. But just because you have the freedom of expression meeting those working against the interests of India, an anti-India lawmaker, is unacceptable," Sitharaman told reporters here.

Addressing a gathering of several hundred Indian Americans in Washington DC on September 10, Gandhi accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of considering some religions, languages and communities inferior to others and said the fight in India is about this and not about politics.

Asking the name of a turbaned person in the gathering, Gandhi said, "The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That is what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions."

Asked to comment on Gandhi's purported remarks in Virginia on Monday on the religious freedom of the minorities in India, she asked who made Manmohan Singh (former Prime Minister) to apologise to the Sikhs.

"Going abroad and speaking with the forces working against India, as a leader of the opposition, its durdasha ... his ally, the DMK, if it is patriotic, should question him on this," she said.

The BJP senior also accused the ruling DMK of creating hurdles to the Centre's initiatives as it did not want the Modi government to earn a good name from the people.

The DMK's opposition to the Vishwakarma Yojana, and Hindi showed the extent to which that party went to defame the Centre. "There's no egalitarian approach in the state. The Dravidian model creates hurdles for the good schemes of the Centre," she said and claimed no action was taken on those who mixed feces in the drinking water tank of the Scheduled Caste.

She claimed that a MP from the state sought her recommendation to admit a child from his constituency to a Kendriya Vidyalaya, where Hindi is taught. "And that party is claiming Hindi is being imposed in Tamil Nadu. Why the hypocrisy, why tar Hindi letters," Sitharaman asked.

The Central minister accused the opposition of creating a ruckus in Parliament to stall PM Modi's reply on the Manipur violence. Two members from Manipur were asked to rush to the well of the House and protest, she added.

On a charge by the ruling DMK that the Centre has not provided adequate funds to implement the Rs 63,246 crore Chennai Metro rail phase II project, Sitharaman said the state government utilised only Rs 5,880 crore, though the Central government arranged Rs 21,560 crore multi-lateral loan to execute it under State sector project.

"We have already said that in due course whenever you think it's fit we will take it up under the central sector. So, don't blame us," she said.