New Delhi, August 2: Setting the tone for Monday’s all-party meet, government and the Congress were engaged in a verbal clash Sunday, with the ruling side alleging ‘‘obstructionism’’ on part of the Opposition which in turn blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘arrogance’ for the Parliament logjam.
With half of the monsoon session virtually washed out, the government asked Congress to introspect and said it can have ‘‘honourable exit’’ by having a debate on the row surrounding External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Lalit Modi.
The government has convened an all-party meeting Monday to discuss ways to end the stalemate in Parliament.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Congress may be upset with the government for ‘‘political reasons’’ but it must ‘‘accept and introspect’’ that ‘‘negativism’’ and its ‘‘obstructionist tendencies’’ would hurt the country.
His attack in a facebook post came in the context of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill which is among the reform measures stuck as Parliament is unable to function because of relentless Opposition demand for resignation of Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in Lalit Modi row and ouster of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over Vyapam scam.
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who addressed the media at BJP headquarters, termed Congress as ‘‘confused’’ and claimed it has put itself in an ‘‘untenable position’’ and ‘‘pushed itself against the wall’’ by demanding resignations of Swaraj, Raje and Chauhan.
Reacting sharply, Congress leader Anand Sharma said, ‘‘The blame of Parliament not functioning lies squarely with the Prime Minister for his arrogance and obduracy.’’
Referring to Jaitley’s comments, he said, ‘‘the unwarranted, uncharitable and provocative statement by the Finance Minister and BJP, accusing Congress of disruption makes it clear the government is neither serious nor sincere in breaking the deadlock in Parliament.’’ He asked Jaitley and BJP ‘‘not to give patronising sermons to the Congress but to collectively reflect and apologise for their own conduct.’’
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, while ruling out any resignation, maintained that there can be a debate in which the Opposition can express its views. He said neither Swaraj nor Raje had done anything illegal or unethical that they should resign. Raje was not even Chief Minister at that time, he added. PTI
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