The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of maintaining silence on critical issues just like his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
Resuming the discussion in the lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President for his address, Sultan Ahmed (TMC) said Modi is also suffering like Singh on the dual power centre syndrome, in an apparent reference to Sonia Gandhi’s influence on Singh and RSS influence on Modi.
The TMC MP appealed to the Prime Minister to take everyone — including the minorities and the Dalits along, reminding Modi that the nationalism propagated by Subhash Chandra Bose was “inclusive”. Ahmed, whose speech saw occasional protests from the treasury benches, said Modi had come to power raising lot of expectations but his Government has been afflicted with “policy paralysis” within two years, noting that the charge used to be levelled by BJP against the Manmohan Singh regime.
“Manmohan Singh’s weakness of keeping mum has now hit Modi,” he claimed adding that the Prime Minister has hardly any time between his frequent foreign tours. Ahmed said he used to listen to PM’s radio programme ‘Man Ki Baat’ in 2014 and 2015, but has stopped now. “Now no one listens to it. It is all bunkum (bakwas)”.
Ahmed’s remark that PM is travelling to states with “trunkfull of currency notes” provoked BJP MPs and Home Minister Rajnath Singh and MoS Parliament Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy to intervene. “I strongly condemn the charge that Prime Minister visits states with trunkful of currency notes,” Singh said in the lok Sabha demanding that the charge be expunged from the records.
“The whole country is watching the way the member is speaking in a hateful language against the Prime Minister,” Rudy said.
Participating in the debate, BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab said the state should not indulge in everything and made a veiled attack on the government over the recent incidents at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad University. “When there is something at a university, the state interferes ... Why the Vice Chancellors can’t be allowed to take decisions,” he wondered.
The BJD leader said the secret files released by the government about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose does not reveal anything that was not known. Over the years, various governments have maintained secrecy about Netaji’s disappearance and asked why has it been so. “Is there something elseIJ... Whatever may be, it (such secrecy) is sad,” Mahtab asked.
Touching upon rising non-performing assets in the country’s banking system, Mahtab said those who are not paying back the loans are not “wilful defaulter” but “skilful defaulters”. Wondering whether anyone was being held accountable forthe bad loans problems at banks, the BJD leader said even the Reserve Bank of India did not raise an alarm over the situation.
He also said that NITI Aayog has been a “non-starter” and wondered what it had done since it was set up in 2015. “Are they (NITI Aayog) policy advisors or quasi-political liasons,” he asked. Mahtab said the joke doing rounds in the political circles was “whether this government is UPA 3 or NDA 2”.
Shiv Sena’s Anandrao Adsul appreciated various initiatives of the government, including Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and other schemes.
He urged the Opposition to appreciate the steps of the overnment that are good and not just criticise everything. Adsul also cautioned that irrigation schemes would not help farmers unless enough water is provided.