Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs and culture Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday hit out at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for being unable to differentiate between speaking and abusing.
Talking to media persons outside Parliament, Meghwal said, “Everyone has freedom of speech in this country, but there is no freedom to abuse any caste.”
“Rahul Gandhi needs to learn to differentiate between speaking and abusing”, he added.
Making a veiled attack on Congress over its ongoing protests against the central government, Meghwal said that the nation grants freedom of speech to its citizens, but not the freedom to use foul words or expletives.
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The BJP leader told Congress that freedom of speech and the use of foul words or abuses are two different things, and the Congress leader should be able to differentiate between the two.
The Congress continued its protests against the Centre on Monday, as several party members wore black clothes.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress continued its protests against the Centre on Monday, as several party members wore black clothes.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress members have been protesting to draw the Centre’s attention over two issues, the Adani-Hindenburg row and the recent disqualification of Gandhi from Lok Sabha, following his conviction in the defamation case by Surat court.
Reacting to the Congress’ protest, Meghwal said, “They (Congress) should know the difference between freedom of speech and using expletives in the name of freedom of speech.”
The BJP leader further asked Congress to not look at everything in a political way, and that everything is not “politics”.
“They (Congress) have been looking at everything from a political point of view,” Meghwal said.
“Instead, they should look at it from the point of view of the law,” he added.
Gandhi, representing Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala, was on Friday disqualified from the Lok Sabha, a day after his conviction in a defamation case by a court in Surat in Gujarat.
The court sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail in the defamation case over his “Modi surname” remarks at a 2019 poll rally in Karnataka.
However, the court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.