CPM House-stall warning

New Delhi, July 1: CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury today said Parliament's monsoon session would be "disrupted" over the Lalit Modi controversy as the Narendra Modi government had "decided to brazen it out".

"The reasonable thing for the BJP to do is remove (foreign minister) Sushma Swaraj and (Rajasthan chief minister) Vasundhara Raje till a thorough probe by an independent authority is carried out," the Rajya Sabha MP said during an interaction with members of the Indian Women Press Corps.

"But since the Narendra Modi government has decided to brazen it out instead, the upcoming session will be disrupted," he added, referring to the session starting July 21.

Yechury cited a remark by Arun Jaitley justifying House disruptions during the UPA's term when the BJP leader was Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha. "After all, the present finance minister had said that disruptions are a democratic method for the Opposition."

In similar cases during the UPA's time, Yechury said the BJP had insisted on "investigation and action". "This (Lalit) case should be investigated. What compromises were made should be known."

Yechury accused the Modi government of bypassing legislative processes. "It is a very big threat... as in many cases, bills are not being sent to parliamentary committees ... they are depriving lawmakers of their right."

The Left leader also slammed the government over its "shaky" economic and social sector policies.

"All key sectors of our economy have been opened up to greater FDI inflows. The government is backtracking on many issues it had opposed earlier, such as permitting FDI in retail...but there is no change in manufacturing or industrial output. (On the other hand), agrarian distress is deepening... this is happening under a leadership that gave the country a promise of hope."

Yechury then referred to "the rising forces of communalism", calling them "dangerous" and accusing the government of replacing history with mythology and philosophy with theology.

He pointed to the BJP's vote share gains in a recent bypoll in former Left bastion Kerala as indicative of "communalisation across the country" and something that required "serious discussions".