After the opposition led a ‘Tricolour March’ on the last day of the Budget session, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a joint press conference at the Constitution Club and held the ruling BJP government responsible for the stalemate in Parliament.
Kharge alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government was disrupting Parliament proceedings in a bid to deflect attention from the Centre’s reluctance to initiate a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations against Adani group.
He asserted that the Opposition was putting up a tough fight to save the Constitution as the government does not walk the talk on democratic principles.
Also read | Parliament standoff: Opposition boycotts Speaker's tea meet, says ‘daal mein kuch…’ in Adani case
He claimed that the opposition was not allowed to raise its demands. “This has happened for the first time in my public life of 52 years," he said. Condemning the government’s attempts to ‘wash out’ the Budget session, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha warned that ‘democracy will turn into dictatorship’ if this trend continues.
{{/usCountry}}He claimed that the opposition was not allowed to raise its demands. “This has happened for the first time in my public life of 52 years," he said. Condemning the government’s attempts to ‘wash out’ the Budget session, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha warned that ‘democracy will turn into dictatorship’ if this trend continues.
{{/usCountry}}"The budget of ₹50-lakh crore was passed in just 12 minutes, but they (BJP) always allege that the opposition parties have no interest and they keep disturbing the House," Kharge said.
Taking a swipe at PM Modi, he questioned the ‘need’ for a prime minister to solely inaugurate ‘old’ trains launched with ‘new engines’ and said, “They didn’t do any other work other than putting a new engine in old trains and then flagging it off along with a long speech. For launching a train, what is the need of you (PM Modi), you have local MPs for it.”
Calling the BJP’s refusal to constitute a JPC ‘fishy’, he explained that nearly 18 - 19 opposition parties had demanded an answer to how billionaire Gautam Adani’s wealth jumped to ₹12 lakh crore over a span of 2 to 2.5 years.
The government ignored the Adani issue and instead focused on making Rahul Gandhi apologise for his ‘democracy under attack’ remarks in the UK, Kharge said.
"They screamed maafi mango over Rahul Gandhi's UK speech. The question was of Parliament, the country's wealth. But they did not agree to JPC because daal mein kuch kaala hai. There must be some connections," Kharge alleged.
He also compared how a convicted BJP MP, sentenced to a three-year jail term, was not disqualified even after 16 days, while Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha at ‘lightning speed’.
Like-minded parties like the DMK, Samajwadi Party, the RJD, the NCP and the Left took part in the joint protest march which began from Parliament House and ended at Vijay Chowk.