Congress intolerant of the mandate of the people, says Venkaiah Naidu

‘When Modi responded to Oppn. criticism, House was stalled’

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu speaking at The Huddle in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The Union Minister for Urban Development, and Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said the Congress was stalling Parliament as it was yet to reconcile itself with its defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and had become intolerant of the mandate of the people.

“I went to Sonia Gandhi’s [Congress president] residence, seeking cooperation. We are also in touch on a party-to-party and leader-to-leader basis,” the Minister said at the concluding session of The Huddle here.

“However, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to the criticism by the Opposition, Parliament was not allowed to function,” he added.

In his conversation with the Editor of

The Hindu BusinessLine , Raghavan Srinivasan, who pointed to the lack of a national consensus resulting in stalling of Parliament, the Minister said: “The Opposition must have its say and the government should have its way because the mandate is with the government.”

“They [Congress] are not able to digest the fact that Mr. Modi, who has no prior international and national experience, is becoming increasingly popular both inside and outside India,” Mr. Naidu alleged.

Taking a dig at the Opposition for ‘only raising slogans’ within Parliament, he said: “Dynasty is nasty for democracy but tasty for some.”

He also said the Communist parties had become ‘irrelevant.’

Offering an example on how the government was reaching out to other parties, Mr. Naidu said: “To gather support to the GST Bill ahead of Parliament’s nod, the Prime Minister spoke to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J. Jayalalithaa seeking her support. While she expressed apprehension over manufacturing States losing out in the GST regime, he convinced her. In return, she promised to abstain from voting.” To bring a broader national consensus, he said the NDA government allowed States to decide on matter of acquiring land for projects, which showed the Union Government’s flexibility.

Mr. Naidu said: “Citizens are aghast at what is happening in Parliament. The public opinion, media and the opinion of enlightened people should change the way parliamentary proceedings are conducted.

“The time has come for debate, discussion and arriving at solutions,” he added.

Mr. Naidu, who listed the ‘achievements’ of the Modi- led NDA government, said it was interested in creating wealth and welcomed businesses to succeed.