Government today accused Congress of using Parliament to "intimidate and silence" the judiciary after Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were not given relief by a court in the National Herald case and alleged that the opposition party was practising "mobocracy".
With Congress continuing to disrupt Parliament accusing the government of resorting to "political vendetta" targeting its leaders, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu launched hit back, saying it was posing a "danger to democracy" by making Parliament "dysfunctional".
Naidu rejected Rahul's contention that the case was "100 per cent vendetta coming out of the PMO" and wondered if the Congress vice president was attacking former prime minister Manmohan Singh because the case was filed when the UPA was in power.
He told a press conference that Subramanian Swamy, a BJP leader who is the complainant in the case, was not in the saffron party when he had lodged it.
Democracy is indeed in danger and there is indeed vendetta, he said wryly, accusing Congress of taking "revenge" on people for its Lok Sabha poll defeat by trying to stall development by blocking Parliament.
Naidu said, "Congress is thinking that it is hurting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But it is wrong because it is hurting India."
For Congress to accuse the government of practising tyranny is like a man crying at becoming an orphan after killing his parents, he said.
"Making Parliament, the highest forum of democracy, dysfunctional is definitely a danger to democracy. Congress seems to believe in mobocracy. Congress is fountainhead of mobocracy.
"How is Parliament involved if some people (Gandhis) have been summoned by a court? Is this the job of Parliament? You want to silence the judiciary. You want to intimidate the judiciary. You are telling judiciary how dare you summon us," he said.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Naidu's deputy, dared Rahul to give proof in Parliament on his allegations against the PMO.
"We will ask Rahul Gandhi, if he has courage enough, if he has honesty enough, if he has standing as a leader of his political party, he should come to Parliament and give proof...," he said.
Naidu said the issues being raised by Congress in Parliament where it involved BJP chief ministers or Union Minister V K Singh were "excuses" to disrupt it.
Taking a swipe at Congress, Naidu said it wanted to
convert a family problem into a national issue and was "misusing" Parliament for family interests.
"Out of frustration over steadily declining political space and adverse judicial pronouncement and unable to accept people's mandate to the Modi government, Congress is holding Parliament to ransom. This is a clear case of vendetta politics," he said.
Mocking the Congress vice president over his assertion that nobody can stop him from raising questions against the government, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said it was the opposition party which was stopping others from questioning the government in Parliament.
Asked about the fate of GST bill, which has been listed for passage in the Rajya Sabha this week, Naidu said it depended on how other political parties reacted and how public opinions shaped up.
He said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed his party JD(U)'s support to the constitutional bill after they met at a private function recently and so has many other parties including SP.
Asked about TMC's, which supports GST, agreement with Congress on its "vendetta politics" charge, Naidu downplayed it, saying "No sensible party or person can support this stand of Congress. Its programme is disruption, disruption, disruption."
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said after "misusing" institutions and government agencies during its 10 year rule, Congress was now politicising a court matter. Congress is holding people's aspirations hostage.
