India News | BJP Rakes Up Bills Passed Amid Din During Congress Rule to Counter-attack Opposition
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. With the opposition slamming the government for passing bills in Parliament amid din, the ruling BJP hit back as it noted that dozens of legislations were passed in similar conditions and without debate when the Congress-led UPA was in power and alleged that all "shameful" Parliamentary lows are linked to its main rival.
New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) With the opposition slamming the government for passing bills in Parliament amid din, the ruling BJP hit back as it noted that dozens of legislations were passed in similar conditions and without debate when the Congress-led UPA was in power and alleged that all "shameful" Parliamentary lows are linked to its main rival.
Addressing a press conference, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the UPA when in power had come up with "creatively destructive" methods of stalling Parliament despite having numbers, and said no one can forget the use of pepper spray by a Congress MP in Lok Sabha in 2014 to protest his own party government's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana.
The last few sessions during the UPA-2 were always marked by disruptions by the ruling alliance's members, and friendly parties were used at times to spread chaos, he said, noting that this was seen during the Lokpal debate.
Prasad added, "It is worth noting that when in power, UPA passed dozens of bills either without debate or amid pandemonium and din. This includes the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2007, Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Bill, 2007, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (Amendment) Act, 2007 and more."
He also rejected the arguments about the BJP creating similar ruckus in Parliament when it was in opposition, saying such a parity is not based on facts.
"The then UPA government was in complete denial of the 2G scam, preferring to use phrases such as 'zero loss' to describe one of India's most shameful corruption scandals. In contrast, the Modi government has been bending over backwards to debate pressing national issues," he claimed.
Be it the border issues or healthcare challenges, the BJP-led NDA called for extensive all-party meets, he said, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in both and gave statements.
"What is appalling is that a meeting to discuss a sensitive issue like COVID-19 was boycotted by the Congress only because of petty political considerations. Even the lives of people come second compared to the political calculations of the top leadership of the Congress," he said.
A number of opposition parties, including Congress, TMC and DMK, have joined hands to stall Parliament demanding that the legislature debate the Pegasus issue first.
They have also slammed the government for having a number of bills passed in Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha amid din.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)