New Delhi, Dec. 23: The Congress today blamed the winter session's near-washout on the Narendra Modi government's "arrogance and vindictive attitude", saying it had created situations in which co-operation became difficult.
"This government is insensitive towards Opposition demands and incapable of running Parliament. Its arrogance and politics of vendetta were the main reasons for the disruptions. I have never seen a parliamentary affairs minister spearheading confrontation," leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said at the customary end-of-the-session news conference.
Although little significant business could be transacted owing to the disruptions, the outcome was a little better than the monsoon session's complete washout.
Azad listed the issues that he said had forced the Opposition to protest. These included the alleged insult of Dalits by minister V.K. Singh, claims of a bid to topple the Congress government of Arunachal Pradesh through the governor, refusal to act on the Vyapam scam and the Lalit Modi controversy, a rice scam in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh and, finally, allegations of irregularities in the Delhi cricket association when finance minister Arun Jaitley headed it.
"There are two sets of rules under this government. They took resignations from our (UPA) ministers on flimsy grounds. We yielded because we were sensitive. Our chief minister (Ashok Chavan) resigned in Maharashtra because his mother-in-law owned a flat in a housing society (Adarsh) that didn't have proper clearance. But nothing will be done on Vyapam, Lalitgate and the rice scam. They could have at least ordered inquiries," Azad said.
His colleague Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress's leader in the Lok Sabha, echoed the view. "The government is blaming us for disruptions. What does it want? We should keep mum when a minister (V.K. Singh) compares Dalits to dogs? That we should ignore if they raid our chief minister (Virbhadra Singh) in Himachal on the day of his daughter's marriage and destabilise our government in Arunachal? Should we quietly accept the two yardsticks to measure corruption, one for Opposition leaders and another for BJP leaders?"
Kharge was scathing in his criticism of Venkaiah Naidu in particular. "The parliamentary affairs minister chose to tell the media that the Congress does not want to discuss GST (goods and services tax) because he was told I was in bathroom when he called. Is this the issue to be raised in the media? That shows their level. The GST did not happen because the government did not accept our demands on three issues. We suspect it was not serious on GST."
The Congress was careful to avoid mentioning the National Herald issue, over which it firmed up its plank of political vendetta. But for that case, the Congress might not have raised the alleged corruption in the Delhi cricket association against Jaitley so forcefully. The Congress now plans to highlight what it calls "the BJP's hypocrisy" on fighting corruption.
The Congress demanded Jaitley's resignation in both Houses - Jaitley is a Rajya Sabha MP - again today, seeking to keep the issue alive for a post-session bout. Congress MPs stormed the well in both Houses, shouting slogans against the government, demanding Jaitley's sacking and a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the allegations related to the cricket body.
When Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Chowdhury drifted from the script by playing on the Prime Minister's boast of a "56-inch chest," Sonia intervened to say the focus should be on corruption and personal references must be avoided.
After that, the chants raised were - finance minister ko barkhast karo (sack the finance minister), khel ghotala band karo (stop the cricket scam), JPC shuru karo (set up a JPC), dohri niti band karo (stop double standard), tanashahi nahi chalegi (dictatorship won't be accepted).
The Prime Minister was targeted with another of his slogans - Na khaoonga, na khane dunga ka kya hua? (what happened to the vow, I will not accept bribes, nor let anyone else do so?)"