New Delhi, Aug 2
Slamming a "confused and
afraid" Congress for disrupting the ongoing monsoon session of
parliament, the BJP on Sunday said party president Sonia Gandhi will
have to take the blame if the session was washed out.
Arguing
that the government was willing to hold a debate on issues agitating the
Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nirmala Sitharaman said
the opposition party, which "does not even have the stature of the
principal opposition party", was "failing the people of India".
"The
position of the Congress keeps changing. They are confused and want
every debate outside parliament. The confusion created by the Congress
is prevailing and people of India (are) being denied a meaningful
parliament session," she said.
The statement came ahead of an
all-party meeting scheduled for Monday. "When offered a debate, they run
away... come up with new demands," she said.
Sitharaman,
minister of state for commerce and industry, said the Congress was
scared of the good performance during the previous parliament session
(Budget session) when productivity of both houses was recorded above 100
percent.
"In the last session, the productivity was 123 percent
in the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha also had more than 100 percent
productivity. The Congress is afraid of this... they don't want success
of the government in parliament," Sitharaman said.
Taking on
Sonia Gandhi, the BJP leader said Congress parliamentarians were
violating the "basic courtesies of the house with great impunity" right
under the nose of the Congress president.
"If this session gets washed out, Sonia Gandhi will have to take the blame," she said.
The
BJP leader further said that if the opposition wanted Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to speak on some issue, they must begin a debate, and the
prime minister may intervene.
"There have been five instances in
the last one year when the prime minister (Modi) has spoken on important
issues. He has intervened as and when critical debates have taken
place," she said.
The monsoon session of parliament, that began
on July 21, has so far not been able to transact any major business due
to repeated adjournments. It is scheduled to last till August 13.
Some
opposition parties, led by the Congress, have been creating ruckus over
alleged help extended to former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi
by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje, and on the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh in which over
40 people have died under mysterious circumstances and the Supreme Court
has handed over the probe to the CBI.
The Congress party is
demanding the resignations of Swaraj, Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan before allowing parliament to function
smoothly.
New Delhi, Aug 2
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) on Sunday criticised the Congress for disrupting the monsoon
session of parliament even though the government has agreed to hold a
debate on the issues agitating the main opposition.
"The position
of the Congress keeps changing. The confusion created by the Congress
is prevailing and people of India (are) being denied a meaningful
parliament session," BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman said here.
The
statement came ahead of an all-party meeting scheduled for Monday.
"When offered a debate, they run away... come up with new demands," she
said.
Sitharaman said the Congress was scared of the good
performance during the previous parliament session (Budget session) when
productivity of both houses was recorded above 100 percent.
"In
the last session, the productivity was 123 percent in the Lok Sabha, and
the Rajya Sabha also had more than 100 percent productivity. Congress
is afraid of this... they don't want success of government in
parliament," Sitharaman said.
She also said that if the
opposition wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on some issue,
they must start a debate, and the prime minister may intervene.
The
monsoon session of parliament, that began July 21, has so far not been
able to transact any major business due to repeated adjournments. It is
scheduled to last till August 13.
Some opposition parties, led
by the Congress, have been creating ruckus over alleged help extended to
former IPL chief Lalit Modi by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, and on the Vyapam scam in
Madhya Pradesh in which over 40 people have died under mysterious
circumstances and the Supreme Court has handed over the probe to the
CBI.
The Congress party is demanding resignation of Swaraj, Raje
and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan before allowing
parliament to function smoothly.
