NEW DELHI: A day after rare camaraderie between the ruling side and the opposition that saw the passage of the GST bill in the Rajya Sabha, both Congress and BJP were back on the warpath on Thursday. The Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “contempt” of Parliament by remaining absent in both Houses during discussion and voting on a Constitutional amendment bill. “This is the first time in 66 years that a Constitutional amendment bill has been discussed and voted in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha without the Prime Minister being present,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
He said Modi was absent when the Lok Sabha passed the GST bill on May 6 last year and again on August 3 this year when it was approved by the Rajya Sabha.
Charging Modi with “blocking the GST bill” between March 2011 and April 2014, Ramesh suggested that the PM could have deliberately stayed away from Parliament as he had opposed it for three years. “Does it signify that the PM still has reservations on GST? He was not on a foreign tour but was sitting in his office in Parliament. It is contempt of Parliament.”
Taking a dig at the PM, Ramesh said Modi had hailed the Constitution as his Bhagvad Gita but he remained absent when the “19th chapter of the Gita” was being written.
“The PM tweeted about GST, but couldn’t be present in Rajya Sabha. Parliament appeared to be PM-mukt,” he said. “He could not spare even five minutes to see the passage of the legislation, which he had labelled as one of the most progressive and revolutionary.”
{{/usCountry}}“The PM tweeted about GST, but couldn’t be present in Rajya Sabha. Parliament appeared to be PM-mukt,” he said. “He could not spare even five minutes to see the passage of the legislation, which he had labelled as one of the most progressive and revolutionary.”
{{/usCountry}}In the Rajya Sabha, heated exchanges were witnessed between the opposition and the government over the dismissal of Congress governments in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh and the role of governors.
Charging the NDA with brazenly violating the Constitution and destabilising democraticallyelected governments, the Congress demanded a statement by the PM on the issue and also sought dismissal of governors in the two states. “I am saddened that in such an important debate we would have expected the Prime Minister to be here. He should have been here and explain why President’s rule was imposed in the two states,” senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said.
He said that even though the PM was coming to Parliament, he has been avoiding the House.
Initiating a short duration discussion, Congress deputy leader Anand Sharma said, “What happened was shameful. The government’s conduct was outrageous... The PM speaks of constitutional federalism... At the same time, BP president talks of Congress-mukt Bharat... this is an insult to democracy and misuse of authority to destabilise elected governments.”
The Congress alleged that the government is treating the post of governors as RSS pracharaks and is using them to destabilise elected governments.
“And I warn you if you are 282 today, you will be 28 tomorrow. That’s going to happen to you, don’t do this,” Sibal said.