Congress digs in, says first resignation, then discussion

Rejecting the claim that it has toned down its protests against the Centre following revelations of corruption against its governments in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the Congress on Wednesday decided to step up protests demanding the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia.

The Congress is also happy that after Left parties and SP, the BSP and JD (U) have also come in support for a discussion on the matter only after the resignation of the BJP leaders.

The Congress is citing the resignation of at least half-a-dozen Congress Ministers, following BJP’s demand, when the latter was in the opposition.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the BJP, while in Opposition, had set the trend that first there should be resignation and then discussion in Parliament. Azad reminded Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that by merely changing the seats, the BJP is not supposed to change its stand on this “trend”.

“Our Maharashtra Chief Minister (Ashok Chavan), our Telecom Minister (A Raja), our Law Minister (Ashwini Kumar), our Railways Minister (Pawan Kumar Bansal) and our Minister of State for External Affairs (Shashi Tharoor) were made to resign on very frivolous charges,” Azad said.

Diversion tactics When asked about the recent revelations against the Uttarakhand government, Azad said the BJP is trying to divert attention from mega scams such as the Vyapam scam and the Laitgate. “The ruling party cannot blackmail and threaten the Opposition. The entire Opposition is ready to face the consequences,” Azad said.

The Congress looked isolated on Wednesday when the party “dropped” the plan to hold a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament. When the reports on corruption in Uttarakhand surfaced, it triggered talks that the party is toning down its protests.

The Congress sources, however, indicate that the protest in front of the Gandhi statue was just a proposal, which was not discussed among the leaders. The party leaders indicated that scaling down the protests at this juncture will hamper the party’s chances further in the future.

The party is also silencing MPs who do not support disruptions in the House. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who publicly favoured a structured debate, is reportedly ticked off by party president Sonia Gandhi.

A senior leader said only some “apolitical” MPs in the party are opposing disruptions. Quoting Jaitley, he said even disruption is a democratic activity.

Houses adjourned Both the Houses did not transact any business on Wednesday too. The Government’s offer for a debate was turned down by the Opposition.

In the Rajya Sabha, leaders of various parties, those who had given notices under Rule 267, demanded that they be allowed to speak on the corruption issues.

he Government made it clear that it does not favour a discussion on Vyapam scam as it is a State issue. “Vyapam scam is a scam in which people have died outside the State. People who have associated with that had died outside the State, and it is not the jurisdiction of one State alone,” argued CPI (M)’s Sitaram Yechury.

SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, however, distanced from the Congress’ plan.

COMMENT NOW