Hyderabad: Union parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday came down heavily on the Congress and other Opposition parties for stalling Parliament.
“We don’t need their advice on how to run Parliament and how ministers should behave.
It is the Congress which degraded and demolished democratic institutions during their rule,” Mr Venkaiah Naidu said. He alleged that the Congress was working under pressure from ‘outside’.
Addressing media here, he slammed the Congress for turning the Union minister of state Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s remarks into a controversy even though she apologised for the remarks.
However, the Union minister did not elaborate on his remark of pressure on the Congress from the ‘outside’ and only said, “You better ask the Congress.
I did not mean China or Italy. I meant Congress leaders from outside are pressurising party MPs.” Taking a dig at Congress leaders for commenting that Lok Sabha Speaker was working under pressure, Mr Venkaiah said Congress MPs should not make such irresponsible comments.
“If they want to insult the Speaker they remember that they are insulting a democratic institution,” he said.
He said Congress members’ behaviour in Parliament only gives an impression that they still could not digest their defeat in the general elections and the subsequent elections in state Assemblies.
Referring to the Congress’ demand that Prime Minister should react to the controversial comments made by Sadhvi Niranjan, Mr Venkaiah said “I want to ask them why they are still making it an issue even after the Prime Minister disowned and disapproved the remarks of Sadhvi.”
Trying to corner the Congress further the minister said Congress leaders never regretted their comments on earlier occasions.
He said it was Sonia Gandhi, who called the then Gujarat Chief Minister and present Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘Merchant of Death’ but never regretted her comment after that.
He challenged the Congress leaders to an open debate on their allegation that communal tensions have increased during the Modi regime.
Referring to increased terrorist attacks in Kashmir, Mr Venkaiah Naidu said it was a desperate act by the neighbouring country, which wanted to disrupt peace and tranquillity and a frustrated attempt to vitiate the highest voter turnout in the ongoing Assembly polls.
