Deccan Herald | Only Indira Gandhi government curbed civil liberties: Hardeep Singh Puri slams Rahul Gandhi over UK remarks

Mar 20,2023

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on Indian democracy in London and hit back at the Congress reminding them that it was under the Indira Gandhi regime that civil liberties were curbed.

Slamming Rahul for inviting foreign powers to interfere, Puri questioned Rahul's objectives and said he should apologise categorically.

"Rahul Gandhi calls China's Belt & Road Initiative visionary. Does he know that China's BRI goes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir?" Puri said.

"If any individual goes outside the country he has the freedom to speak but along with that freedom comes what I call the need to have a sense of responsibility. We are the world's oldest democracy but Mr Gandhi goes to UK and says Indian democracy is facing an attack on the basic structure," he said.

He further added that Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was tutoring Rahul Gandhi.

The erstwhile civil aviation minister also said that it was only the Indira Gandhi government that curbed civil liberties during the emergency.

"His grandmother invoked Article 356 150 times to suspend & dismiss legitimately elected state governments," he said.