New Delhi: Refusing to relent in its attack over alleged communal remarks by some BJP MPs, Congress today charged that the Prime Minister was “complicit” in the matter as it demanded that he should clarify in Parliament as to why such comments were being made despite a statement from him.
Rejecting BJP’s charge that the opposition was stalling Parliament, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said, “If the (Upper) House is not working, it is due to the arrogance and obduracy of the government”.
He alleged that BJP was “deliberately resorting to cheap diversionary tactics” to shift attention away from its “failure to deliver on promises”.
“It is not happening by default… The Prime Minister is complicit. His party is complicit… Had these incidents not happened after his first assurance, we would not have protested in the House.
“Since these things happened even after that and the Prime Minister’s assurance was broken, now only he can tell what action he will take against them,” Sharma said while calling for “demonstrable disciplinary action” against the saffron party MPs making such remarks.
He alleged that BJP MPs, including Yogi Adityanath and Sakshi Maharaj, have made statements which were “contrary to the assurance” given by the Prime Minister in Rajya Sabha in the wake of the row over objectionable comments made by Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
Meanwhile, rejecting BJP’s charge that Congress member Hanumantha Rao made some “unparliamentary” remark in the House and that Congress President Sonia Gandhi should answer for that, Sharma said, “He (Rao) did not say any such thing. I am surprised at what they (BJP) are saying. This is absurd.
“Even if it is accepted that Rao said something, then it is for the Chair to examine it. We never said that since a BJP member made a certain remark in the House, BJP President Amit Shah should come and give a statement.”
Sharma remained non-committal when asked whether the opposition parties, including Congress, would stop disrupting the House if the Prime Minister comes there on Friday.
Noting that tomorrow being a Thursday, it is anyway the Prime Minister’s day in Rajya Sabha, Sharma said that the opposition’s behaviour will depend on how Modi responds.
“Is he going to listen? He is duty-bound to come tomorrow. Thursday is PM’s day in Rajya Sabha. The PM is neither obliging us or the Indian Parliament by coming to the House.
“If he does not come, then obviously he will be giving another reason to the opposition to say that he is insulting Parliament,” said the Congress spokesperson.
Sharma added, “The Prime Minister must listen… His communication is one-way. One-way communication does not work in a democratic narrative. He has to intervene in the debate.
“He should not be be expecting that because he comes and says something, the entire House will rise… and accept whatever he says. He must answer for every promise made and remarks made by his party members.”
Sharma added that all those making controversial remarks belong to the “same school as RSS”.
The deadlock in Rajya Sabha continued for the third day today with a united opposition insisting that Modi should reply to a debate on the matter of the alleged communal statements, a demand not acceptable to the government.
Congress member Hanumantha Rao was asked to withdraw from the House for the day by Chairman Hamid Ansari for creating a ruckus.
At the AICC briefing, Sharma said it was primarily the responsibility of the government to ensure that the House runs and the legislative business is carried out. “Our duty is to expose and oppose the wrong deeds of the government,” he said.
Sharma also attacked the government for its alleged “failure” on various counts, including the issue of bringing back black money, rising prices and the economy, saying the “grandiose” plans unveiled by Modi and the “big-ticket reforms” promised by him are yet to materialise.
