)
Accusing Congress of indulging in unfair criticism on the Leader of Opposition (LoP) issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today asserted that the matter is in the purview of the Lok Sabha Speaker.
"The LoP issue is not in government's purview. I don't want to comment. But they criticise the government. They say that there is no meaning in democracy. It is against spirit of Constitution (if the LoP status is not given). They criticise Speaker also. Kamal Nath said the Speaker's decisions are "flavoured" by ruling party. What is that flavour. I don't know. He must be talking about his own experience," Naidu told reporters here.
Taking exception to Congress leader Anand Sharma's reaction that the Attorney General's reported opinion is "not worth the paper on which it is written," he said the comments are unfair.
"AG's opinion came. The Speaker would consider that and a decision will be made. They attack AG even before that. First, they criticise government, then Speaker and now AG," he said.
"AG is one of the senior-most legal luminary in the country. You may have difference of opinion on that. But how do you say it is not worth the paper it is written on," he said.
The government would abide by whatever decision is made by the Lok Sabha Speaker on LoP issue, he said, adding that the NDA government does not believe in pressurising anybody.
"Why should we fear if an opposition leader comes. We have no problem if the Speaker decides in Lok Sabha. In fact, they did not give their application till the other day," he said.
