FILE photo: Senior Congress leader and former Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan
A war of words broke out between the Congress and the BJP today over
Narendra Modi's "Jayanthi tax" jibe, with the ruling party linking it to the "festering Snoop-gate wound". Congress also questioned whether the Gujarat Chief Minister was "paid" for having tainted ministers in his Cabinet.
'Snoop-gate' pertains to the alleged illegal monitoring of a young woman in Gujarat in 2009 by senior police officials at the the behest of one "saheb" or 'boss'. The Congress has alleged that Mr Modi was the "boss" referred to in those conversations.
The BJP promptly hit back at the Congress, saying the Environment Ministry under Ms Natarajan worked as a "red" ministry, cherry-picking projects and asked why her party was not "outraged" when she stalled crucial proposals for "collateral interests".
"Whenever you raise one finger on others, three fingers are on you. When the Gujarat Chief Minister talks about any tax, he should answer what tax he had been paid when he retained a minister, Babu Bokhiria, convicted by court.
"He should also reveal what tax he got when he had made Purushottam Das Solanki, who had done a scam worth Rs 300 crores, a minister. Our minister has clarified that he (Modi) said this only after she talked about Snoop-gate. Perhaps the wound of Snoop-gate has begun festering. Hence, he is saying all this," party spokesperson Raj Babbar told reporters.
BJP, on its part, defended Mr Modi's "Jayanthi tax" remarks against the former Environment and Forests Minister, saying there were reasons to believe that she held back projects worth thousands of crores of rupees for "collateral interests".
"Why were so many files and decisions pending? Why did the Prime Minister's Office not do something when the projects were not been cleared? The ministry functioned as a red ministry as it did not clear files and red-flagged them. The ministry was cherry-picking projects... There is so much outrage in Congress over Modi's remarks on Jayanthi tax. This outrage should have been there when files were not being cleared and the minister was holding back projects," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
She also alleged that the Ministry of Environment and Forests, under Ms Natarajan, had failed to strike a balance between protecting the environment and not hampering growth.
"It was expected that the ministry would ensure this balance with growth but it was performing with some collateral interests which brought down growth," Ms Sitharaman said.
The main opposition cited media reports to say that 350 files were pending under Ms Natarajan and the ministry was not run professionally.