NEW DELHI: Senior Congress chief Jairam Ramesh on Saturday mentioned he doesn’t see a “middle path” to finish the logjam in Parliament because the Opposition’s demand for a JPC probe into the Adani challenge was “non-negotiable” and the query of an apology over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks within the UK doesn’t come up. In an interview with PTI, Ramesh mentioned the federal government is rattled by 16 Opposition events coming collectively to demand a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani challenge and is resorting to a “3D orchestrated campaign — distort, defame and divert”.
The former Union minister additionally hit out at BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s efforts to hunt termination of Rahul Gandhi’s membership of Lok Sabha over his remarks within the UK, saying all this was “intimidation” and a part of efforts to distract from the actual points.
The remarks by the Congress normal secretary in-charge communications comes amid the logjam in Parliament over Gandhi’s remarks throughout his latest journey to the UK, with each homes failing to transact any important enterprise on the primary 5 days of the finances session’s second half.
Also on Friday, Home Minister Amit Shah mentioned the present logjam in Parliament might be resolved if the Opposition comes ahead for talks and that the federal government will go “two steps ahead” if the Opposition takes “two steps forward”.
Asked if there may be any likelihood of discovering a center path to interrupt the present logjam in Parliament with the BJP sticking to its demand of Rahul Gandhi’s apology and Congress in search of a JPC probe into the Adani challenge, Ramesh mentioned, “I don’t see any middle path because our demand for a JPC is non-negotiable and the question of an apology does not arise.”
“In order to divert attention from this legitimate and reasonable demand for a JPC, the BJP is insisting on an apology. An apology for what, the current prime minister (Narendra Modi) has repeatedly in China, Germany, South Korea and in various parts of the world used forums to raise domestic political issues and to criticise his political opponents. He should be making an apology why should Rahul Gandhi be making any apology for highlighting what the state of democracy is in our country today,” he mentioned.
There is an “undeclared emergency” prevailing within the nation, Ramesh alleged.
Asked concerning the BJP’s cost that Gandhi sought intervention of overseas international locations, the Congress chief dismissed the cost, calling it “absolute bunkum and nonsense”.
He argued that no matter Gandhi mentioned within the UK is a matter of file with its movies and transcripts out there.
“He (Gandhi) is very clear, he said ‘India’s problems have to be solved internally through the electoral process, these are internal issues’. But he also said democracy in India is a public good and if India is democratic, not only India benefits but the world also benefits,” Ramesh mentioned.
“This is a canard, an absolute lie that is being propagated by the BJP,” he mentioned of the BJP’s overseas intervention cost.
Whatever remarks are being attributed to the previous Congress chief, he by no means mentioned it, Ramesh mentioned.
“What the BJP has been doing in the past couple of days is that it is distorting Mr Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in order to divert. This is the 3D orchestrated strategy of Mr Modi — distort, defame and divert. Why divert, because there is growing evidence daily of the complicity of the establishment, the PM himself, in this massive scam of Adani in which crores and crores of rupees of public institutions LIC, SBI and other financial institutions are involved and crores of crores of Indians are suffering because of this cronyism,” Ramesh alleged.
Asked about BJP MP Dubey’s demanded that Gandhi be expelled from the House for his remarks within the UK, Ramesh mentioned, “This is intimidation. If they want to give a motion to the Speaker, they are welcome to do so. Mr Gandhi will reply.”
According to rule 357, Gandhi is allowed a private rationalization in Parliament, Ramesh mentioned, citing that in 2015, BJP chief Ravi Shankar Prasad was allowed a private rationalization in response to some remarks made in opposition to him by Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was within the Congress again then.
“Yesterday, for almost 15 minutes the microphones went off, it was collective mute,” he alleged.
Later, in a tweet, Ramesh hit out at Shah over his remarks Friday of lndira Gandhi refusing to debate home politics overseas.
“Amit Shah says that Indira Gandhi & Atal Bihari Vajpayee never took domestic politics abroad. He is right. The man who started criticising India all over the world was Shah’s Saheb beginning in 2014,” he mentioned and hooked up a video montage of a few of Modi’s remarks throughout his visits overseas.
On disruption moderately than debate changing into the norm, Ramesh mentioned the Opposition doesn’t have a say as additionally it is not allowed to debate points equivalent to Adani, China in addition to financial issues.
“One of the fundamental rules of a parliamentary democracy is that the Opposition must have its say and the government will have its way. We know we don’t have the numbers in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha but we are not even allowed to have our say and now efforts are being made to tarnish the Opposition’s (image), saying that Opposition is responsible (for the adjournments),” he mentioned.
Ramesh mentioned that it was the treasury benches that compelled the adjournments, and never the Opposition.
“Normally, it is the Opposition protests that force adjournments, here it is the government that is forcing the adjournment because it is not interested in any debate or any discussion,” he claimed.
During his interactions within the UK, Gandhi alleged that the constructions of Indian democracy are below assault and there’s a “full-scale assault” on the nation’s establishments. He additionally informed British parliamentarians in London that microphones are sometimes “turned off” within the Lok Sabha when an opposition member raises vital points.
Gandhi’s remarks triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on overseas soil and in search of overseas interventions, and the Congress hitting again on the ruling celebration by citing cases of Modi elevating inside politics overseas.
