Congress a destructive opposition: BJP

As Congress President Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders protested against suspension of their MPs, BJP Parliamentary Party today accused it of being a "destructive" opposition and passed a resolution against its "obstructionist and anti-development" policies.

On a day Congress MPs led by Gandhi sat on a dharna to protest the Speaker's decision to suspend 25 of their MPs from Lok Sabha, the ruling party lashed out at Gandhi for calling it a "black day for democracy" and raked up the imposition of Emergency to criticise it.

With the main opposition party unrelenting on its demand for the resignation of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan and Madhya pradesh chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP said there was "no basis" for such a demand and the parliamentary party stands with them.

"Congress has abdicated the responsibilities of a constructive opposition and is using its numerical strength in Parliament, especially in Rajya Sabha, to adopt a negative strategy.
"BJP Parliamentary party condemns the obstructionist, narrow and anti-development mindsent of Congress as it will have a serious and adverse influence in long term on the country which is emerging as an important economic power in the world," said the resolution passed in the meeting, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and most of his ministerial colleagues.

Congress has become a "destructive" opposition party, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters after the meeting.

The government had made "honest" efforts for the smooth conduct of the Monsoon Session, the BJP meet said and accused Congress of making a "U-turn" after initially agreeing to a debate on the Vyapam and Lalit Modi issues.

Congress refused to attend a meeting called by Finance Minister and Leader of Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and also declined the government's proposal for an all-party meet on July 31, the resolution said, accusing the opposition party of working with a "narrow political agenda".

The BJP resolution charged Congress with deliberately obstructing the Modi government's attempts for the country's resurgence and said the opposition party had been left "stunned" at Parliament's productivity in the previous sessions.

"A stunned Congress has prepared a policy to stop necessary economic reforms aimed at reviving the economy and obstruct other welfare and development policies of the government. This policy has become its political strategy which is being executed with more power and commitment by Congress in the monsoon session," it said.
It said Prime Minister Modi's "increasing popularity" has become a "pain in the eye" of Congress.

"This is unfortunate that a party with 130 years of history and which has ruled the country for over five decades has not been able to get over its shameful loss in 2014. It has not been able to digest the full majoirty given to Narendra Modi by people," it said.
On the Congress demand for the resignation of Swaraj, Raje and Chouhan, it said there is no basis for it.

"In the same way there is no ground for the resignation of Raje and Chouhan and the BJP Parliamentary Party is standing by them," the resolution, proposed by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and passed at the meeting, said.

It also defended Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's decision yesterday to suspend 25 Congress members, saying it was done under "dire" circumstances as they exhibited disrespect to the Chair and ignored her requests for not carrying placards.

It said the BJP Parliamentary Party was surprised that Sonia Gandhi had called it a black day for democracy. "This is unfortunate that the Congress party which trampled democracy in 1975 by imposing Emergency and snatched away the citizen's liberty is making such unfounded claims," it said, citing expulsion of 63 opposition members from the House on March 15, 1989 over their demand that Justice Thakkar commission report on Indira Gandhi's assassination be tabled.