Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi said her brother has the highest respect for the Army and will never say anything against it. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
The INDIA bloc parties on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) said the observations made by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court on Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are “unwarranted”.
On Monday (August 4, 2025), hearing a case regarding Mr Gandhi’s statement that China had taken over 2000 sq. km of Indian territory, Justice Dipankar Datta observed, “How do you [Mr. Gandhi] get to know that 2,000 sq. km of Indian territory had been occupied by the Chinese? Were you there? Do you have any credible proof? If you are a true Indian, you would not say all these things”.
In the press release, the Congress said that Tuesday’s (August 5, 2025) morning meeting of the INDIA floor leaders discussed these remarks.
“All the leaders of the India parties agreed that the sitting judge has made an extraordinary observation which is unwarranted on the democratic rights of political parties,” the statement said.
“It is the responsibility of political parties especially the Leader of Opposition to comment on issues of national interest. When a government fails so spectacularly to defend our borders, it is every citizen’s moral duty to hold it accountable,” the statement added.
SC judges can’t decide who is a true Indian: Priyanka Gandhi
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) rallied behind her brother Rahul Gandhi after the Supreme Court rapped him over his remarks on the Army, saying it does not fall within the purview of the judges of the top court to decide who is a true Indian.
She said her brother has the highest respect for the Army and will never say anything against it. As the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, it is Rahul Gandhi’s duty to ask questions of the government, the Wayanad MP said.
The Supreme Court on Monday (August 4, 2025) stayed the proceedings against Mr. Gandhi before a Lucknow court over his remarks about the Army during his December 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra. The top court, however, censured the Congress leader, saying if he were a true Indian, he would not say such a thing.
Asked about the top court’s observations, Priyanka Gandhi told reporters at the Parliament House complex, “With due respect to the honourable judges of the Supreme Court, they do not decide who is a true Indian. It is the job of the opposition leader, it is his duty to ask questions and to challenge the government.”
“My brother would never say anything against the Army. He holds the Army in the highest respect. So, it is a misinterpretation (of his remarks),” she said.
(with PTI inputs)
Published – August 05, 2025 01:18 pm IST
