In new role, Rijiju reaches out to Opposition, says govt will take everyone along

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, June 11

Speaking a day after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stressed the importance of consensus in running Parliament, Kiren Rijiju, the new Parliamentary Affairs Minister, on Tuesday said the government will do whatever it takes to reach out to everyone and will not run over anyone on the basis of numbers.

‘No one unsafe, it’s negative propaganda’

The newly appointed Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said no one was unsafe in the country and needless negative propaganda must be avoided. Asked to comment on allegations of persecution of minorities, Rijiju said, “We are not concerned with propaganda. We are concerned with the welfare of every Indian. When the Prime Minister says ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishvas and sabka prayas’, it means everybody has to be together, they have to be united in every sense.”

Hoping to see a constructive Opposition during his term, Rijiju, after taking over charge from predecessor Pralhad Joshi, appealed to the Opposition for support and asked them to accept the mandate of the people. “In democracy, people are the ultimate arbiters. They have given a mandate. We must accept it. Those chosen to govern should govern and those chosen to sit in the opposition should engage in constructive debate and criticism…We will do whatever it takes to reach out to everyone.. We won’t run over anyone on the basis of numbers. People may use muscle power outside Parliament but inside the house, we should use vocal power,” Rijiju said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed for the Parliament to run smoothly and with everyone’s cooperation.

Bhagwat had yesterday said political adversaries should not be treated as enemies and consensus should be the spirit behind running the Parliament. Rijiju today termed Parliament the temple of democracy where the country’s future is decided and said, “We all have different roles but our goal is national service.”

He said PM Narendra Modi’s s sabka saath sabka vishwas mission will be taken forward from the Parliament only. Rijiju also steered clear of questions about Congress Party’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the alleged stock market scam which, the opposition party has said, was triggered by fake exit poll results of 2024 LS polls. The minister also stayed silent on the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker or on questions about whether NDA ally, TDP, had sought the speaker’s post.

“Today is not the day to discuss these issues..I want to begin with a positive note and I am confident that the 18th Lok Sabha will become one of the most productive and defining in history,” said Rijiju.