Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had earlier targeted Congress calling it "mother of defections".
Highlights
- Opposition disrupted Parliament over President's Rule in Uttarakhand
- Uttarakhand crisis: Congress accused Centre of 'murdering democracy'
- Congress dismissed over 100 non-Congress governments: Venkaiah Naidu
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday hit back at the Congress, which has accused the Modi government of "murdering democracy" by imposing President's rule in Uttarakhand, and said "butchers cannot be preachers."
"Congress which dismissed more than 100 non-congress governments right from EMS Namboodiripad, under article 356, is now criticising the BJP. Ridiculous!," Mr Naidu tweeted on Monday when the Congress disrupted proceedings in Parliament over bringing Uttarakhand under central rule.
He had earlier targeted the Congress calling it "mother of defections".
"The Congress government at the Centre dismissed EMS Namboodiripad's first democratically-elected Left government in Kerala, despite its majority in the Legislative Assembly in 1959," Mr Naidu had said against the backdrop of Left joining hands with the Congress in targeting the Centre over the political developments in Uttarakhand.
Facing opposition's attack over the Uttarakhand issue, the Modi government has decided to take rivals head-on, citing instances of states being placed under central rule when the Congress, Janata Party and United Front were in power.
An internal document circulated in the government notes that out of 111 times President's rule has been imposed since 1951, "Congress governments and those propped by it imposed it 91 times" including "45 times during the 16-year tenure of Indira Gandhi" and "10 times during the 10-year rule of Manmohan Singh".
The Parliament session began on Monday with a face-off between the ruling and opposition benches as the Modi government was slammed over imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
Amid opposition demand for a discussion on the issue, the Congress members created a ruckus in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, accusing the BJP-led dispensation of toppling democratically-elected governments of opposition parties, a charge rejected by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.