New Delhi, Aug 12:
Amid the ongoing Parliament stand-off, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday launched a scathing critique of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, accusing them of holding the House to ransom and exploiting the students’ protest to gain political mileage.
In a pointed attack at the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, the BJP claimed that his arrogance was a key reason behind the Parliament logjam. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Constitution makers would never have imagined that the temple of democracy would become ‘hostage’ to whims, fancies, and the arrogant attitude of any ‘Shehzada’, a pointed reference to LoP Rahul Gandhi.
“Bhaago mat, daro mat, aur kaan kholkar .. grih mantri ka jawaab suno,” the BJP MP said in Hindi, roughly translating into “don’t run, don’t get frightened, and listen to Home Minister’s reply with open ears”. Pinning the blame on Rahul and Congress for the Parliament washout, he said that the Opposition’s behaviour over the past few days clearly exhibited their disruption tactics and blatant bid to derail the House proceedings.
He said the government was quick and prompt in addressing the issues raised by the Opposition, but they didn’t keep their word. “They (Opposition) have been consistently changing the goalposts. First, they demanded stern action against the paper leak mafia and strict regulations to address flaws in the NEET examinations.
A new bill was approved by the Cabinet and passed by Parliament, the Education Minister stepped down from his post, and the cases against unruly elements during the Jantar Mantar demonstration were also withdrawn,” the BJP national spokesperson said. Trivedi stated that the government also agreed to the Opposition’s demand for the Home Minister’s reply, but they decided to run away from debate. “They insisted on Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on the Delhi Police crackdown.
The government and Home Minister are ready to give a reply in the House, but the Congress party is bent on disrupting the House by now allowing it to function,” the BJP MP pointed out, accusing them of holding the House to ransom. Claiming that Congress has a history of ‘running away’, he stated that whenever the government readies its reply on any issue, the Opposition develops cold feet and runs away from the House. He cited previous instances, including the Prime Minister’s reply on the Manipur crisis. “You must not be frightened; you must not run away from debate.