BJP and Congress in no holds barred attack
13 Aug 2015 5:36 AM IST
He was replying to an adjournment motion moved by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, demanding <g data-gr-id="34">resignation</g> of Swaraj for her alleged involvement in the Lalitgate case.
The day-long discussion on the matter, which has seen complete impasse in Parliament for over a fortnight now, witnessed a venomous counter attack from the government, first by Swaraj and then Jaitley on the allegations made by the Congress party. The motion was defeated by voice vote as the Congress walked out. “Today the whole country was hoping that the step Congress took in seeking an Adjournment Motion would have some reasoning and logic behind it. But the Congress failed to come above empty slogans,” Jaitley said. The Finance Minister blamed the Congress of defending former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi.
“You follow the wrong path where you cannot arrest him or get him back to the country,” Jaitley said, criticising the role of the earlier government. He said, “Difficulty with Rahul Gandhi is that he is an expert without knowledge. Without an issue which is not an <g data-gr-id="37">issue</g> you waste a whole session. You somehow want to sabotage the Indian growth story. The real reason is that the Congress wants to derail the GST which would have propelled Indian growth.”
Earlier in the day, after Kharge brought <g data-gr-id="43">flurry</g> of charges against her, Swaraj said, “Rahul Gandhi likes taking holidays. Please take a holiday and read your family history. And when you come back, you should ask, Mamma, how much money did we take from (Italian businessman Ottavio) Quattrochi (the main accused in Bofors bribery case)?” She also raked up the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which killed 15,000 people.
Quoting from late Congress leader Arjun Singh’s biography, Swaraj alleged that the Congress had allowed the Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson to escape to <g data-gr-id="45">US</g>. Pushing her case forward, Swaraj said, “Rajiv Gandhi had allowed Anderson to flee in a quid pro quo arrangement with the US in which Rajiv Gandhi’s childhood friend Adil Shahryar was released from prison.” She also denied any conflict of interest on her part as well as family members.
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi said, “Can Sushma Swaraj tell us if she has accepted the request made by one gentleman? IPL is the centre of black money. Lalit Modi is the symbol of black money. Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have the guts to face the House. So he is not in Parliament.”
“I have heard about <g data-gr-id="68">lot</g> of humanitarian acts. But Sushma Swaraj is the first humanitarian who does humanitarian acts in hiding. Sushma Swaraj should tell us what benefit her family got because of the commercial transaction as Arun Jaitley said. She should also tell us how much benefit did Lalit Modi get,” Gandhi said.
<g data-gr-id="71">Oppn</g> slams India Inc
Opposition leaders accused India Inc on Wednesday of trying to dictate Parliament’s functioning after leading industrialists pleaded with feuding lawmakers to cast aside differences and allow both Houses to run. “How can the corporates dictate the functioning of Parliament?” asked Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav in Rajya Sabha. “The capitalists, after 68 years of independence, are saying that Parliament should run. They must know that 125 crore Indians have chosen Parliament... They (corporates) want to run Parliament? It is quite evident today that they (Narendra Modi government) came to power with support from corporates.”
Objecting to this, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that “everybody wants Parliament to function.” “Do those who voted for you not want Parliament to function,” Jaitley asked Sharad Yadav. “Every segment of society has an interest in India’s democracy and India’s Parliament functioning.
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