A day after the mega inaugural event for the new Parliament, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Youth Affairs, and Sports Anurag Thakur on Monday took a jibe at Congress and Rahul Gandhi during his Ahmedabad visit on Monday. Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified as an MP in March following conviction in a defamation case, was given a chance to see the new building at the inaugural event, which he missed, Thakur suggested. At a media briefing, held to mark the Narendra Modi government's nine years at Centre, Thakur was responding to a question on opposition allegations that seers were invited for the grand event instead of the opposition parties. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil were also in attendance at the briefing. “An all-religion prayer was held there (at the Parliament inauguration). And that uncovers the lie of the opposition. All the opposition parties of the country and all the parliamentarians were invited. Chief Ministers were invited," Thakur said. “Some people are prohibited from being a member of parliament.Earlier, they used to find excuses to stall the Parliament session. Now, they are boycotting it. The people of the country are watching everything. These are the same people who were known for corruption.The people will never forgive them,” he added. In a sarcastic comment aimed at Rahul Gandhi without naming him, Thakur also said, “It (The Parliament inauguration) was a chance for them. They could have seen the (new) Parliament under this pretext (of inauguration).” Reacting to a comment by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on rising inflation under BJP rule in the country, Thakur said, “I openly challenge Kharge ji - check figures of the entire world. In the United States, and nations in Europe, where there was never inflation, inflation has increased manifold. In comparison to those countries, India has kept control over inflation. During the Congress rule, there was no global recession, and yet the inflation rate was 12 to 14 per cent. During their tenure, banks were on the verge of getting shut, and inflation and corruption were at their peak. Then Congress did not have an answer.” At the briefing, Thakur also lashed out at Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) while claiming that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be the last nail in coffin. He was responding to a tweet where the RJD seemed to compare the new Parliament building to a coffin. “Those whose tenures were marked with corruption, who did not refrain from eating fodder meant for animals, those who are facing cases of corruption, their future lies in the same coffin they have shown. Next elections will be the last nail in their coffin,” Thakur said.
