 "By simply changing seats, BJP can't change the precedent: Ghulam Nabi Azad")
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad tells Kavita Chowdhury that the Congress in opposition cannot be threatened and blackmailed by the government. Edited excerpts:
There is a view that by the second day of the Parliament session, the Congress appears to be scaling down its protests against the government.
The Congress is neither scaling down its protests nor hitting below the belt, the
way the BJP is attempting to do. It was the then BJP in Opposition during the UPA regime which made our Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, our telecom minister, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Minister of state for Education Shashi Tharoor, Railways Minister Pawan Bansal all resign on frivolous charges. It is the BJP, while being in Opposition, which set the trend for first resignation, then discussion. By simply changing seats, they can’t change the precedent. We demand the resignation of Union minister Sushma Swaraj and BJP Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The government has made it clear that state-specific issues like Vyapam cannot be made an issue before the Union Parliament.
Whether it is the Lalitgate or the Vyapam scam, they have national as well as international ramifications. Students from MP and elsewhere have been affected by the Vyapam scam; among the 48 dead are also those from other states. These two issues have drawn the attention of the entire nation and the media has reported on it extensively. There have been agitations across the country, demanding action against the accused.
The BJP has warned that if the Congress raises Vyapam in Parliament, it will raise scams in Congress-ruled states. On Wednesday, it highlighted how Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s personal secretary was embroiled in a liquor licence scam.
To deflect attention and focus from these big issues of Lalitgate and Vyapam, the BJP is trying to raise the Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh issues. There is no comparison between the charges and the issues they threaten us with. The ruling party cannot blackmail and threaten us. The entire Opposition is ready to face the consequences. The BJP, too, should be ready to face the many controversial issues of the NDA years. They should not force the Congress to stoop to their level, because, if need be, we too can rake up all those issues.
There is a view that by the second day of the Parliament session, the Congress appears to be scaling down its protests against the government.
The Congress is neither scaling down its protests nor hitting below the belt, the
way the BJP is attempting to do. It was the then BJP in Opposition during the UPA regime which made our Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, our telecom minister, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Minister of state for Education Shashi Tharoor, Railways Minister Pawan Bansal all resign on frivolous charges. It is the BJP, while being in Opposition, which set the trend for first resignation, then discussion. By simply changing seats, they can’t change the precedent. We demand the resignation of Union minister Sushma Swaraj and BJP Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The government has made it clear that state-specific issues like Vyapam cannot be made an issue before the Union Parliament.
Whether it is the Lalitgate or the Vyapam scam, they have national as well as international ramifications. Students from MP and elsewhere have been affected by the Vyapam scam; among the 48 dead are also those from other states. These two issues have drawn the attention of the entire nation and the media has reported on it extensively. There have been agitations across the country, demanding action against the accused.
The BJP has warned that if the Congress raises Vyapam in Parliament, it will raise scams in Congress-ruled states. On Wednesday, it highlighted how Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s personal secretary was embroiled in a liquor licence scam.
To deflect attention and focus from these big issues of Lalitgate and Vyapam, the BJP is trying to raise the Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh issues. There is no comparison between the charges and the issues they threaten us with. The ruling party cannot blackmail and threaten us. The entire Opposition is ready to face the consequences. The BJP, too, should be ready to face the many controversial issues of the NDA years. They should not force the Congress to stoop to their level, because, if need be, we too can rake up all those issues.