Congress Supports Trinamool To Prevent Amit Shah From Speaking: BJP

The BJP on Tuesday said the Congress is supporting Trinamool Congress' "blockade" of the Rajya Sabha to prevent its president Amit Shah from speaking in the house.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called it undemocratic and a new low in parliamentary democracy.

TMC members stormed into the Well of the House minutes after BJP president Amit Shah began speaking on agrarian issues.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the House for the day due to unrelenting protests by the TMC.

At a press conference, he also accused the Congress of being "anti-Dalit and anti-tribal" as the Rajya Sabha's agenda had included a debate on a bill to strengthen a law on atrocities against Dalits but it could not be taken up due to adjournment.

The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on Monday.

Hitting back at the TMC, he said in a jibe that people knew how much respect it had for democracy, referring to reports of violence during local body polls in West Bengal and election of many party members unopposed, allegedly due to threats to opposition nominees.

Opposition members had disrupted Mr Shah's speech in the House during a debate on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam as well.

That time Mr Shah had addressed a press conference to hit out at the Congress and the TMC.

The law minister said the TMC had the "patronage" of the Congress in the House.

He said Mr Naidu had elicited views from all other parties as the TMC protested and every party except the Congress said they wanted the debate to continue.

The Congress gave an ambiguous and wishy-washy reply, he said, accusing it of supporting the TMC's blockade of the House.

Will the president of a party which is in power in the country and in 20 states not be allowed to speak in the Rajya Sabha, he asked, wondering what kind of precedence the opposition parties are setting.

The Congress is running away from a debate on agriculture as it would expose the party as the Modi government had done a lot for farmers while the UPA did little in its 10 years rule, he said.

Mr Prasad quoted a recent article of noted farm expert MS Swaminathan, who had played a crucial role in green revolution in India, to support his claims. MS Swaminathan had credited the Modi government with taking a number of initiatives in the sector.

Asked about a poem TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had penned to target the BJP on the issue of NRC, he said she should also write one on the blot she brought to democracy during the local body polls in her state.