New Delhi [India], August 13 (ANI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday criticised the Centre over the washout of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were not ready to come to the House and hear the Opposition.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge said the Prime Minister and Home Minister should come to the House and listen to the concerns of Parliament members instead of remaining away from proceedings.
“They are not ready to come to Parliament. When the PM himself is not stepping in, when the HM is not coming in and say, ‘main andar tha, main sun raha tha’ — do you come here to sit in your room and listen? Come to the House and hear us,” Kharge said.
He accused the government of trying to undermine democracy and demoralise Parliament members.
“These people want to destroy democracy and they want to demoralise Parliament members and they feel that Parliament is nothing before them, that they are everything… People will break their ego,” he said.
On the reported ‘shuddhikaran’ havan held at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani after he addressed a rally, Kharge condemned the incident and said such acts divide the country.
“I said this is not right for the country; this divides the country. If people who believe in BJP’s principles do ‘purification’ in the name of religion, then these are people who ruin the country. So, I condemn this attitude. Case should be filed against all those who did ‘purification’ there. They should be arrested and action should be taken against them,” he said.
Kharge’s remarks come after the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die today, soon after the commencement of the final day of the Monsoon Session following the traditional playing of Vande Mataram. The adjournment came amid persistent Opposition protests and heavy sloganeering that disrupted the House.
The conclusion of the session came amid intense political friction, marked by high-voltage counter-protests between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition MPs at the Makar Dwar steps within the Parliament complex.
The BJP protested against the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, over the Congress party’s lack of acknowledgement regarding the ongoing protests in Jharkhand.
That was followed by controversial sloganeering by opposition MPs, led by Congress MP Pawan Khera, who were seen protesting with a toy monkey and sloganeering, “56 inch ka chhota bandar, jaldi aao sadan ke andar.” (ANI)