House paralysed for 2nd week as no let-up in Govt-Opp tirade

As the second week of the Monsoon Session of Parliament witnessed a near washout, aggression from the Government and the Congress escalated and the level of discourse   deteriorated. While Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday dismissed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s defence as “theatrics”, HRD Minister Smriti Irani hit back saying “it’s easier to give a byte” than speak in Parliament.

Though the Government appealed to the Congress “to introspect” and return to the lok Sabha, the pitch of confrontation scaled up with the two sides making almost no-holds-barred attacks against each other.While Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi asked the External Affairs Minister to explain how much money her family got from lalit Modi to keep him out of jail, the BJP levelled the dynastic charge to get back at Rahul and “the Gandhi family”.

Returning the fire, the BJP said people from “common families” have to earn their living and the Gandhi family may be an “exception”. It also said Sonia’s “theatrics” jibe reduces Parliament’s dignity.The BJP fielded Union Minister Smriti Irani to defend Swaraj from the frontal strike by the Congress top brass against her. To a question on Sonia’s attack against Swaraj, Irani shot back asking if the Congress president wanted to say that Parliament had become a “theatre”.

“Such a statement is disrespect to the people’s mandate.... Congress party, especially Rahul Gandhi should not work to reduce Parliament’s respect,” she told reporters.Irani said giving a byte for one-and-a-half minute may be easy but speaking in Parliament for over one-and-a-half hours without support of papers may be difficult.

After Rahul sought to know how much money Swaraj’s family received from lalit Modi, a reference to the fact that her lawyer husband and daughter had worked for the former IPl chief, Irani sarcastically said that people from “common families” have to earn their living and the Gandhi family may be an “exception”.

On Sushma’s poser as to whether Sonia would have acted differently if faced with such a situation (helping a cancer-afflicted woman), the Congress president said, “Sushma Swaraj is doing drama, she is an expert in theatrics.... I would have certainly done my best to help the lady (lalit’s wife) but not by breaking the law.” 

 In her defence in the lok Sabha, Swaraj had said on Thursday she had not helped lalit Modi but his cancer-stricken wife and questioned if Sonia would have acted differently if faced with such a situation. A tad more aggressive Rahul said the whole matter relating to lalit Modi and her was kept secret as is done in a “theft”.

“When a theft takes place, two things happen, whatever occurs is done in secrecy and there is a financial transaction. What Sushma did was done in secrecy, keeping her Ministry in the dark,” he said.“Sushma should tell the country how much money her family, her daughter and husband got from lalit Modi to keep him out of jail,” he told reporters. Rahul also said that his mother would not have acted in the manner the Minister did on the lalit Modi issue.

While no business was transacted in the pre-lunch session in Rajya Sabha, only six private member Bills could be introduced post lunch, following which, sharp exchanges broke out between Opposition and Treasury benches, with the former insisting that no business was possible till the Government met its demands and the latter opposing it.

When Congress leader Anand Sharma said a consensus could be evolved that till their demands are met by the Government, no business will be taken up in the House, the Treasury benches strongly objected to this saying there could be no such consensus.Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Parliamentary democracy, never has such a thing happened that no business was taken up in the interest of the poor and downtrodden.

Meanwhile, talking peace, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the Congress should end its “tit-for-tat” approach and allow Parliament to function for the remaining four sittings following the clarification by External Affairs Minister on the lalit Modi issue.

Countering the Opposition’s attack over “undemocratic action” against 25 Congress MPs, Naidu said the Government was always ready to back revocation of their suspension but the Congress was unwilling to return to the House.He, however, defended the action and said the Speaker should have acted “much earlier” against the placard-waving MPs, as it was her responsibility to ensure proper functioning of the House.