Issue between EC, Congress should not be discussed in Parliament: Rijiju

Rijiju also announced that Parliament will hold a special discussion to honour Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his recent space visit to the ISS as part of India's space mission

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday called on Congress and other opposition parties to refrain from creating disruptions in Parliament over issues related to the Election Commission.

Rijiju, while speaking at a press conference, stated that any disputes between the Election Commission and political parties should be discussed directly with the EC, and not in the Parliament.

"The issue between the Election Commission and the Congress party should be discussed in the Election Commission and not in the Parliament. We are not the spokespersons of ECI. ECI is an autonomous body, and we cannot answer on behalf of them..." he added.

He urged the opposition not to "create a ruckus" over issues related to the Election Commission.

Rijiju said, "As far as Congress and other political parties are concerned, they created a ruckus in the House over the issue of the Election Commission. I request that they refrain from creating a ruckus during this discussion."

Rijiju also announced that Parliament will hold a special discussion to honour Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his recent space visit to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of India's space mission.

"In the Parliament, today, we are going to honour Captain Shubhanshu Shukla through a special discussion. We will discuss his space visit and India's space mission in detail," Rijiju said.

He expressed hope that members from all parties would participate positively, similar to the bipartisan support witnessed during the recent discussion on Operation Sindoor.

"I hope that the way all the members of all parties took part in the discussion on Operation Sindoor, the same way all parties will congratulate Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Indian scientists and take part in this discussion..." he added.

Shukla, who returned to Earth on July 15 after completing NASA's Axiom-4 (AX-4) space mission, landed in Delhi in the early hours of Sunday.

Shukla was part of NASA's Axiom-4 Space Mission, which took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US, on June 25. He returned to Earth on July 15, splashing down off the coast of California. He became the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space.