File Photo: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
In a scathing attack on Congress, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today alleged that it has become "politically bankrupt" as it played the role of "obstructionist and destructive" opposition during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Hitting out at Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi he said, the Congress vice-president is "miles away from ground realities" and that Congress has made Parliament, a "platform" to display its "narrow political mindset".
The Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs said while politics of Parliament and road is for people's welfare, the "brand new leader" of the grand old party is "neither able to understand realities of the roads nor importance of Parliament."
"Political journey from nonsense to nuisance of Rahul Baba, the brand new leader of the grand old party, is miles away from ground realities," Mr Naqvi alleged.
The minister said that disruption in Parliament on genuine issues is an acceptable part of democracy, but it must be issue-based, logical and in the interest of people of the country.
"But what we have seen from day one of the current Monsoon Session of Parliament, which started on July 21, is disruption on non-issues and without any logic.
"It is against democratic principles. Proceedings in both the Houses have been disrupted by the Congress, the main Opposition party, on baseless issues while the government was always ready for debate on all the issues and to resolve them," Mr Naqvi claimed in his blog post.
The Congress has been protesting on Lalit Modi and Vyapam related issues and seeking resignations of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh chief ministers.
Congress has played a role of "obstructionist" and "destructive" opposition during this Monsoon Session.
"This cannot be justified in any manner. The Congress has made Parliament, the biggest temple of democracy, a platform to display its narrow political mindset.
"It is denigrating people's mandate by blocking reform initiatives taken by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Mr Naqvi claimed.
Accusing Congress of having become politically bankrupt, Naqvi claimed that recent comments of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are against "political decency."
Both Mrs Gandhi and her sonl had attacked Ms Swaraj on Friday. While Congress President called Ms Swaraj an expert at theatrics, Rahul Gandhi went a step further to ask how much money Lalit Modi had paid Ms Swaraj's family to help him stay out of jail.
Mr Naqvi claimed that the rival party has "not been able to digest" its humiliating defeat in the 2014 General Elections.
"...Now it has become crystal clear that Congress is afraid of the growing popularity of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his government...and wants to delay the legislations which are essential for country's economy and development," Mr Naqvi claimed.
The illogical disruption by the Congress proves that "power brokers and middlemen", who have been kicked out from power corridors by the NDA government, have "contracted out" the Congress to "derail" the development agenda, Mr Naqvi further alleged.
He said the government had convened an all-party meeting on July 20 to discuss agenda for the Monsoon Session.
Representatives of 30 political parties attended the meeting, he said, adding, all of them including Congress wanted detailed discussions on all major issues to which the Congress had expressed its readiness.
Mr Naqvi said the government was ready for discussion but the Congress made a "U-turn" and has "disrupted proceedings" of the Parliament from day one of the Monsoon Session.
"Misusing its numerical strength in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress has violated all limits of decorum of the House," he claimed.
Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wanted to meet leaders of various parties to address their concerns but the Congress "refused", he said.
He added that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu also wanted to convene an all-party meeting on July 31 but the Congress "did not confirm their participation saying they were pre-occupied".
Mr Naqvi claimed that government made every possible effort to end the "stalemate", but Congress was "keen to see a washout" of the Monsoon Session because of its "negative determination."
The minister said the Congress has been seeking resignations of Ms Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje on Lalit Modi issue and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Vyapam matter without any evidences.
He further claimed that people have realised that Congress has been "adopting these tactics to create hurdles" for the NDA government.
Mr Naqvi said nine Bills were identified for introduction in Parliament during the Monsoon Session while eight Bills, which are pending in Rajya Sabha, were lined up for consideration and passing during this session.
These included imortant legislations like GST Bill, the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2015, the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 and the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015 could not be taken up due to disruption in the Rajya Sabha, he said.
The Congress should understand that by stalling Parliament, it is actually stalling progress of the nation, and it will have to pay a heavy price for such an attitude as people of the country are watching this, he said.
The NDA was always ready to accommodate the opinion of the Opposition which resulted into high productivity in the last Parliament sessions.
"The last Budget Session proved to be the most productive during the last decade with Lok Sabha working for 117 per cent of the scheduled working hours while the Rajya Sabha reported a productivity of 101 per cent," Mr Naqvi said.
Expressing displeasure, he said that due to the disruption by Congress in the Monsoon Session, more than 57 hours have been lost in Rajya Sabha from July 21 to August 7, 2015.
In the Lok Sabha, more than 27 hours have been lost from July 21 to August 4, 2015 due to disruption.
"Besides, crores of public money has also been wasted. The Congress' arrogance is solely responsible for this," he alleged.
Countering Congress arguments that the BJP, when in the Opposition, had also disrupted Parliament, Mr Naqvi said, truth is that the BJP had effectively raised issues of monumental scams such as 2G, coal blocks allocation as "clinching evidences" came out in the public domain in the form of courts taking cognisance of these matters and there were CAG reports on irregularities.
He claimed the Congress has violated all Parliamentary norms in this Monsoon Session including "denigrating authority of Lok Sabha Speaker" which resulted in suspension of 25 of its members.
While emphasising that there were earlier instances when Members were suspended, Mr Naqvi said, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was compelled to suspend the Congress Members because there was "no other option left" as the the Members were not ready to listen to her appeal to maintain discipline.
Any Speaker or a Chairman suspends Members with a heavy heart, he said.