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Congress wasted entire session over non-issue: Jaitley

Lashing out at the Congress for wasting the monsoon session over a non-issue, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday called the Congress offensive against external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj a pretext to sabotage the Indian growth story by holding up key legislations.

Updated on: Aug 13, 2015, 01:51:13 IST
Hindustan Times | By , New Delhi
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Lashing out at the Congress for wasting the monsoon session over a non-issue, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday called the Congress offensive against external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj a pretext to sabotage the Indian growth story by holding up key legislations.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley speaks in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley speaks in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

“Without an issue which is an arguable issue, you hold up Parliament, you waste the whole session and the real reason is that you ran a failed government... a corrupt government. Therefore, when things are beginning to look up in India and there is a new confidence, you somehow want to sabotage the Indian growth story,” he said.

“My entire sympathies are with Sushmaji because she is only a scapegoat, a pretext. The real reason was that they wanted to prevent the legislation, particularly the Constitution amendment on the GST,” Jaitley said, replying to an acrimonious debate on an adjournment motion on Swaraj helping Lalit Modi get travel documents.

Jaitley accused the Congress – which had insisted on the debate – of not taking any real steps in the right direction to get Modi back when it was in power.

The ex-IPL commissioner became liable for arrest only a few days back when a non-bailable warrant was issued against him in a money laundering case, the FM said, calling Rahul Gandhi as “an expert without knowledge”. Modi was not a “fugitive” when Swaraj had spoken to British authorities for his travel documents in 2014, he said.

“The question of Sushmaji resigning does not arise,” Jaitley asserted.

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