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Piyush Goyal calls out Cong's ‘destructive attitude’ as Parliament adjourned again, blames Jairam Ramesh's tweet
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not showing “sensitivity” to address people's issues in Parliament, soon after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day.
The third day of the Parliament monsoon session saw the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha adjourned again after the Congress and other opposition MPs launched vociferous protests over inflation, GST and other issues. Union minister Piyush Goyal - also the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha - responded with a swipe, pointing out that while the government is “ready for discussion” Congress MPs did not want the House to run smoothly.
“We're ready for discussion on every issue but Congress doesn't want discussion and the House to run properly,” Goyal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. He also blamed Congress MP Jairam Ramesh for a tweet he said “exposed the destructive attitude” of the party.
“Congress is running away from the debate,” Goyal added.
Rajya Sabha MP Ramesh - a prominent critic of the government - tweeted shortly after the Upper House was adjourned for the day. He called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show more “sensitivity” in the face of a “shocking increase in GST rates” on essential foods.
“The Rajya Sabha got adjourned for the day. If only the PM shows some sensitivity to address people's issues in Parliament…,” Ramesh tweeted.
The Congress veteran also retweeted a short video shared by the party's Uttarakhand in-charge, Devendra Yadav, in which MPs were seen shouting “GST wapas lo, wapas lo (Take back GST)”. The video was also shared by the Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, earlier in the day.
Both Houses were adjourned - first till 2pm. On resumption, the Rajya Sabha was suspended for the day and the Lok Sabha adjourned till 4pm, after which it was postponed to 11am Thursday. When the Lok Sabha resumed at 4pm, panel speaker Midhun Reddy struggled to control the pandemonium as opposition MPs shouted slogans and even held placards, with one reading “Gabbar strikes again”. Soon after, he adjourned the session for the day.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla earlier today urged all opposition MPs participating in sloganeering to resort to discussions, saying the the “public wants the Parliament to work”.
Protests took place Tuesday as well, both inside and outside parliament and in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue. The scenes were the same today too, with opposition parties bringing milk and curd packets with them to protest the price rise and GST rate hike in essential household goods.
