Rahul Gandhi accuses Modi government of wasting Parliament’s time
India’s democracy is built on the idea that MPs should speak for the people and debate matters of national importance in the Parliament, according to the Congress leader.
NEW DELHI — Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader and Member of Parliament from Wayanad constituency, on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi led ruling Bhartiya Janata Party of wasting Parliament’s time, by not discussing ‘issues of national importance’.
Mr Rahul said India’s democracy is built on the idea that MPs should speak for the people and debate matters of national importance in the Parliament.
“The foundation of our democracy is that the parliamentarians should be the voice of the people and discuss the issues of national importance,” the Congress leader said.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the ruling party was not allowing the opposition to do its job. “Modi government is not allowing the opposition to do its work,” he said.
Mr Rahul also asked the ruling BJP party to debate on issues like inflation, farmer protests and Pegasus revelations.
“Don’t waste more time of Parliament – let us discuss inflation, farmers and Pegasus,” Rahul Gandhi pitched.
Pertinently, all such issues have put the BJP government on a backfoot while dealing with the opposition in the Parliament.
While farmers’ protest continues at Ghazipur border and Kisan Sansad is going on at Jantar Mantar, inflation is also a raging issue in the country.
In June, retail inflation in India was 6.26%. June 2021 is the second consecutive month when India’s CPI has stayed above the 6% mark, the upper limit of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) tolerance band. The wholesale price index (WPI) in India continued to grow in double digits for the third consecutive month in June.
Also, Pegasus snooping scandal has put the ruling party in a difficult position to defend itself. The government is trying to skip the controversy.
On Wednesday, the Standing Committee on Information Technology headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor could not deliberate on “Citizens’ Data Security and Privacy”, as none of the officials of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) and the Department of Telecom came for the meeting, citing various reasons for their absence.
The BJP members, on the second consecutive day, staged a walkout refusing to sign the attendance register, forcing the meeting to be cancelled in the absence of quorum.
A discussion on data security and privacy would have entailed questions on the alleged Pegasus cyberattack on more than 300 persons in India.
