New Delhi: The face-off between the Congress and the central government continued for yet another day on Friday in both houses of parliament.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments over the National Herald case while Congress members staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha, demanding suspension of or an apology from Bharatiya Janata Party’s Virendra Singh for his remarks against Congress leaders.
The Congress, both inside and outside parliament, tried to clarify that the Nation Herald case has nothing to do with the protests in the houses.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said he has been telling all concerned, including the media people, that the National Herald case is not the issue on which the house was witnessing disruptions.
“I had said in the house that it did not function for the first two days because of the issue of V.K. Singh and after that for two-three days it could not function because the government did not take any action against chief ministers of Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh,” Azad said, adding that the demand for action against them was made during the monsoon session of parliament.
Responding to Congress’ charge against the government, Minister of State of Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in the Rajya Sabha that if the Congress was worried about its current perception among people and wants to correct it, the party must let the house function from Monday onwards.
“Perception against you could be wrong (that you are not letting the house function because of the National Herald case), but if you want to correct it, let the coming Monday be a good day, a working day,” he said in the Rajya Sabha replying to Azad’s charges.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who is in Guwahati, referring to the part’s agitation in parliament said a wrong impression was being created about the party’s stand on the GST bill pending in parliament.
“As far as Congress’ statement (on the issue) in parliament is concerned, the impression is being given that we are not interested in the GST (bill).”
Referring to the National Herald case, he reiterated that the central government was having a political vendetta against the Congress party and that it was coming out of the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Matter driven by Prime Minister’s Office. It is a legal issue and we will handle it legally,” he said.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed multiple adjournments amid protests by the opposition Congress on Friday.
In the Lok Sabha, the Congress staged a walkout demanding suspension of or an apology from Virendra Singh of the BJP.
The parliamentary proceedings got paralysed from Tuesday onwards after the Delhi High Court, a day before, dismissed Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gnadhi’s plea to quash summons issued to them by a trial court on BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s complaint in the National Herald case.
IANS