The power-packed crowd was genteel and the setting mellow. But that did not prevent some tough talk, with senior ministers in no mood to pull back their punches despite the risk of raising already hot political temperatures.
Senior ministers in the Narendra Modi government mixed tough political talk with a promise of more economic reforms at India’s most coveted business awards, setting the stage for yet another parliamentary confrontation, which could once again test the effectiveness of the government.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley singled out the so-called Congress High Command, an euphemism for the Gandhi family, for attack over parliamentary paralysis, and his colleague Piyush Goyal revived talk of “alternate mechanisms” to pass laws as the NDA government gears up for the Budget session of Parliament. Jaitley said even allies of Congress and what he described as the “mid command” of the party support vital laws such as the goods and services tax.
The “high command” — an obvious reference to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi — is coming in the way of an agreement, he said. “The problem is not with Indian politics,” Jaitley said. “The problem I think is with a few individuals,” he added.
The Finance Minister’s bid to isolate the Gandhis comes after two sessions, in which almost no business was transacted in the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority and needs Congress support to pass Bills, especially GST that seeks to amend the Constitution, and therefore, needs a two-third majority.