PM Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha Today, But BJP Adamant He Will Not Speak on Conversions
PM Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in the Rajya Sabha
today, but the ruling BJP has decided that it will not "not give an
inch", said sources, on the opposition's demand for a statement from him
on religious conversions.
Top leaders in the government decided
not to give in to the opposition's demand after an assessment that the
repeated calls for an intervention by the PM is an attempt to build a
perception that he is not in control of members of his party and the
government.
There are four working days left of the Winter
session of Parliament and the government needs to push a number of key
legislation, including major economic reforms. For days now, a united
opposition has disrupted proceedings in the Rajya Sabha or Upper House
of Parliament over various issues - including the repatriation of black
money, hate speech by a BJP lawmaker and lately, the conversion issue.
It has rejected statements made by senior ministers, demanding that the PM come to the House and speak.
The
BJP-led NDA government is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha and needs
the support of other parties to push through Bills in that House. It
expects a showdown on its key reform, the Insurance Bill, which 105 of
the 250 lawmakers in the Upper House are opposed to, including the
Congress' 66. Less than 70 support it.
The government, said
sources, is even looking at the option of pushing the Insurance Bill,
which seeks to raise a cap on foreign direct investment in insurance
from existing 26 per cent to 49 per cent, as an Ordinance or executive
order after the session if the logjam does not end.
Ahead of the
session, the government had detailed 37 bills - most of which remain
pending, including the Goods and Services Bill and the one to replace
the Coal Ordinance.
The Goods and Services Bill is a major tax
reform that requires a constitutional amendment to be approved by
Parliament. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has worked long hours to bring
states on board on the measure so that he can get Parliament's go-ahead
in this session.
The union cabinet approved the GST bill last
night. The government is expected to take the bill first for
introduction to the Lok sabha where it is in majority.
The
Opposition had made it clear at the start of the Winter session that it
planned to block the government's efforts to move key legislation. It
has managed to show rare unity in doing. The session ends on December
23, and most of the 22 sittings have been marred by opposition protests
especially in the Rajya Sabha.
Source: NDTV
Cong blames it all on Modi's 'arrogance'
|
| Sanjay K. Jha |
New Delhi, Dec. 17: The Congress today
blamed Narendra Modi's "ego and arrogance" for the continuing deadlock
in the Rajya Sabha where key reform bills, including one on the
insurance sector, are lined up for consideration.
Sources said the government this morning had unambiguously conveyed
to the Congress that the Prime Minister wouldn't participate in the
debate on communal harmony as "he doesn't like to be repeatedly
questioned on issues on which he has already clarified his stand".
The Congress, on its part, told the government the upper House
couldn't function unless the Prime Minister gave an assurance that the
constitutional scheme on religious freedom would be respected.
"The Opposition's demand for the Prime Minister's assurance to
Parliament is reasonable. If he doesn't respond, the Opposition will not
relent," Congress deputy leader in the House Anand Sharma said.
The Prime Minister is not under any obligation to participate in a
debate. But following the controversy over the recent "reconversion" of
350-odd minority slum-dwellers, the Opposition has decided to use the
sensitive issue of harmony to mount pressure on the government and tell
Modi that he would have to offer himself to parliamentary grilling.
Congress leaders said Modi would have to understand that he could not
treat Parliament the way he had treated the Gujarat Assembly.
"Modi entered Parliament for the first time after becoming the Prime
Minister and gave an emotional speech saying this was a temple for him,"
Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh told The Telegraph.
"Now he does not want to even commit in Parliament that he will ensure
constitutional principles are honoured. He never answered any question
in the Gujarat Assembly and had his way by suspending the Opposition.
This will not be possible here."
Sharma said the government's "arrogance and obduracy" were "solely
responsible" for the "stalemate" in the Rajya Sabha. "The Prime Minister
believes in one-way communication. He doesn't like to be questioned.
But the democratic narrative is never one way. He is the PM because
there is a parliamentary system of governance and he will have to be
answerable to Parliament," Sharma said.
"We want to make it clear that the government should not and must not expect the Opposition will salute if he comes and speaks."
Asked if the Opposition wouldn't allow the Rajya Sabha to function
till the Prime Minister responded, he said: "I think we have made it
abundantly clear."
Sharma, who is leading the Opposition charge in the Rajya Sabha,
referred to provocative statements by BJP MPs and ministers on
conversions and other issues. "We know the statements are deliberately
being made to create communal disturbances to divert the nation's
attention from non-fulfilment of promises and mismanagement of the
economy. The Prime Minister is complicit. This is happening by design,
not default. We are worried things could worsen and hence we want a
commitment and some demonstrable action by the Prime Minister before the
(winter) session ends (next week)."
Congress members debated Modi's record in the Gujarat Assembly after
party MP Hanumantha Rao was suspended for the day for protesting in the
House. They virtually challenged the Chair's ruling, arguing that the
member was not even in the well when he was named.
"I was only asking why couldn't the PM come to the House as he was
very much in Parliament," Rao said. "There is no question of apology.
The allegation that I used foul language is false."
Modi will have to come to the Rajya Sabha tomorrow as Thursday's
Question Hour relates to the Prime Minister's Office. The Opposition is
determined not to allow the Question Hour till he speaks on communal
disturbances first.
'Governance day' rider
- What can we do if Atalji was born on Xmas, asks Naidu
|
| Our Special Correspondent |
New Delhi, Dec. 17: The Centre today
said Christmas would be celebrated along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee's
birthday as "Good Governance Day" on December 25 and hit out at the
Opposition for trying to politicise the issue.
"What can I do if my great former Prime Minister was born on
Christmas Day, which is a holiday? Can I change it?" an agitated
parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu said in the Lok Sabha
after the Opposition accused the Centre of overshadowing Christmas with
Vajpayee's birthday.
Naidu was replying on the government's behalf despite the presence of
HRD minister Smriti Irani, who sat looking upset. At one point, she
rose and shouted at the Opposition as it accused the Centre of lying and
misleading the House.
"Christmas will be celebrated and Vajpayeeji's birthday will also be
celebrated as 'Good Governance Day'. There is no question of changing
any of these two programmes," Naidu said, reading from a circular. He
asserted the government was in no way disrespecting Christmas. "There is
no contradiction, there is no disrespect for Christmas."
The Opposition, however, staged a walkout, alleging that the Centre
was "lying" about earlier circulars asking its educational institutions
to observe "Good Governance Day".
Before that, Naidu and Mallikarjun Kharge got into a spat when the
Congress's House leader alleged that the government was driven by the
"RSS's" agenda, prompting a swipe from the minister at the Gandhis.
" Sangh ka saath, parivar ka vinaash (Going with the RSS will
spell disaster for the family)," Kharge said, perhaps alluding to the
BJP as a "family". Naidu shot back saying: "Family ka saath, Congress ka vinaash, desh ka vinaash (Going with the family leads to the Congress' destruction, the country's destruction)."
The Congress later threatened a privilege motion against Naidu and
Smriti for misleading the House over the earlier HRD ministry circulars.
Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia said the circulars were sent to the
Navodaya Vidyalayas, Kendriya Vidyalayas and institutes like the IITs
and IIMs, and accused the Centre of lying about them now.
The Lok Sabha functioned normally after the walkout, unlike the Rajya
Sabha which could not, stalled by the rows over conversions and
Christmas. |
Sycophants or coteries, not Modi's cup of tea
|
| Our Special Correspondent |
New Delhi, Dec. 17: The Prime Minister has made plain his distaste for sycophants and coteries.
Addressing BJP MPs yesterday, Narendra Modi - known to be forthright
with party colleagues - said he had no favourites, did not believe in
encouraging hangers-on or in playing one against another, and preferred
to meet people in "large" groups than in one's and two's.
Modi made it clear he was against those who were using their alleged
"proximity" to him to foster their ambitions. Nobody quite figured out
who he was referring to or in what context he was speaking.
Those who have worked with him for long confirmed he was a
"transparent" person. "He has clear likes and dislikes and makes them
obvious with just one glance," a source said.
In 2010, when the RSS began to promote the BJP's regional
heavyweights as potential central leaders, one of its objectives was to
undermine the "power" of an entrenched Delhi cabal helmed by veteran
L.K. Advani.
For the decade or more that he headed the BJP, although with small
breaks, Advani put together a team that once included Modi. But Advani
denied the regional leaders the space they sought in the national arena.
The RSS first experimented by anointing Maharashtra's Nitin Gadkari as party president. But he was done in by the Delhi lobby.
Modi, who had worked for a while in Delhi and was familiar with its
power dynamics, proved a different kettle of fish. He held his own
against Advani, Sushma Swaraj and others and it fell on him to take the
place of the cabal.
In many interviews before taking over as Prime Minister, Modi said he
would break the "status quo" of "vested interests" controlling Delhi.
A source said Modi probably intended embarking on his "mission" with his own party. |
PM peps up team to do 'image control'
- BJP arms to stub out rival 'theories'
|
| Radhika Ramaseshan |
(From left) BJP MPs Niranjan Jyoti, Sakshi Maharaj, Savitri Bai Phoole, Yogi Adityanath and Uma Bharati. Pictures by Prem Singh
New Delhi, Dec. 17: Narendra Modi today told some of
his senior ministers "we have done nothing wrong" in a pep talk that
sources said was aimed at spurring them into action to counter the
Opposition's "propaganda".
The meeting came in the wake of controversies over "reconversions",
abusive comments about minorities and calls to declare the Bhagvad Gita a
"national text" that, the sources said, had coalesced to foster a
perception that the BJP-led regime had allowed sectarian issues to
overwhelm governance.
The Rajya Sabha, where the ruling NDA is in a minority, remained
paralysed today as the Opposition insisted the Prime Minister make a
statement that constitutional freedoms would be respected.
The morning meeting of the BJP and the Centre's core political group came in this backdrop.
"We have not committed a sin. We have done nothing wrong, so we need
not worry," Modi was quoted as telling Arun Jaitley, M. Venkaiah Naidu,
Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari - the ministers who heard
him out.
BJP sources privy to the interaction - that routinely takes place
every morning before Parliament starts - said they were "given to
understand" that Modi appeared "concerned" about the potential damage to
his image as well as that of his government's and, therefore, their
political reflexes ought to kick in.
"The Opposition is making a concerted effort to project a picture
that India is obscurantist, that communal forces have gained an upper
hand after the regime change," a minister said.
The sub-text of the collective anxiety that a number of BJP seniors
and ministers shared was that the international press, particularly the
western media, would lap up such "negative" projections "to vindicate
the half-truths and lies it had peddled about the BJP and Modi all these
years".
Sources said what the government fears more is that the "soft power",
disseminated through the "Left-Liberal" portrayals of the government,
particularly in its ramped-up social media posts, might eventually
revive the "biases" of western establishments against Modi after they
had "just about warmed up" to him.
In the prelude to the summer elections, Modi's fans had created
hash-tags on Twitter that pitched him as India's only hope to save the
country from the Congress's "ruinous" clutches.
The tables have turned since. Modi's cheerleaders, such as author
activist Madhu Kishwar, have become defensive and even combative over
certain ministerial appointments while his foes have a field day on
social media.
Coupled with the Hindutva themes, gingered up with disputed
statements from saffron-clad "sadhus" and "sadhvis", Modi's neo-converts
from a space that was anti-Congress but uncomfortable with the
RSS-VHP's "extremism" have been getting increasingly restive with the
government's "lethargy" on implementing big-ticket economic reforms. A
recent in-camera meet of industry body CII heard many business leaders
complain how their expectations weren't even close to being met.
With the insurance, GST and coal bills hanging in mid-air because of
the Opposition's and the ruling party's intransigence over breaking the
deadlock in the Rajya Sabha, the view of a go-slow on reforms could gain
strength, sources said.
Among the government's first moves was persuading the RSS's Dharam
Jagran Samanwaya Vibhag to call off its "reconversion" ceremony on
December 25 when the Sangh offspring had planned to "reconvert"
Aligarh's Christians to Hinduism.
Sources said the government asked senior RSS officials to prevail upon the Samanwaya Vibhag's organisers to cancel their show.
"We had no choice but to obey the orders from the top," Aligarh
convenor Brajesh Kantak said. "We erred in not presenting our arguments
properly. We are not people who trample over the Indian Constitution, we
are patriots who hold the book on our heads."
On Monday night, the outfit decided to call off the programme. |
|
Source: Telegraph
...and I am Sid Harth
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