# Rijiju names Akhilesh Yadav as most reasonable Opposition leader in Parliament 2026-08-26T23:51:40+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has called Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav the most reasonable Opposition leader in Parliament. In an interview with India Today TV, Rijiju said he reaches out to all Opposition leaders personally, but singled out Yadav as easiest to deal with amid the Monsoon Session disruptions. Rijiju said he held a long discussion with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, but Gandhi had taken a firm stand on demanding Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation and would not compromise. The minister contrasted this with Yadav’s conduct, while also criticising Opposition slogans and abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside the House. Rijiju’s comments come as the government and Opposition clashed repeatedly during the Monsoon Session, with the minister accusing Congress and other parties of deciding in advance to block proceedings despite backchannel talks. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Rijiju’s rating of Akhilesh Yadav as the most reasonable Opposition leader signals the BJP’s tactical preference for dealing with regional parties over the Congress in parliamentary manoeuvres. The Samajwadi Party holds 37 Lok Sabha seats, making it the second-largest Opposition bloc after Congress’s 99, but its UP base limits its national bargaining power. The remark is also a contrast to Rijiju’s description of Rahul Gandhi’s inflexible stand on Amit Shah, highlighting that personal rapport does not erase ideological lines. In a hung Lok Sabha with 240 seats for the NDA, the government relies on the support of two key allies, TDP’s 16 and JD(U)’s 12, rather than Opposition cooperation to pass Bills. The next test will be the Winter Session starting in November, where the government is expected to push the One Nation One Election bills. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in Leads with a government ministeru2019s personal compliment to a rival, softening the adversarial parliamentary story This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Akhilesh Yadav, Amit Shah, Kiren Rijiju, Parliament monsoon session, Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rijiju-names-akhilesh-yadav-as-most-reasonable-opposition-leader-in-parliament/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rijiju-names-akhilesh-yadav-as-most-reasonable-opposition-leader-in-parliament/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/