Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu has accused the Congress and Left parties of impeding development by stalling Parliament proceedings.
Mr. Naidu told reporters here on Thursday that the Bill granting constitutional status to Other Backward Classes was cleared by the Lok Sabha, but was referred to the select committee by the Upper House and this reflected the Opposition’s attitude.
Referring to a memorandum submitted by the Opposition to President Pranab Mukherjee, Mr. Naidu said the charges levelled against the government would boomerang on them. Time has come for an introspection for the Congress and the Left parties, he said.
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The Opposition blame on the functioning of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) was only an excuse to overcome the defeat in the recent Assembly elections. The Congress had not consulted Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh or its senior leader M. Veerappa Moily before raising such accusations. He dared the Congress to take the challenge thrown by the Election Commission to check the functioning of EVMs.
The Speaker reserves the authority to decide whether a Bill could be presented as money Bill and by challenging it, the Opposition was questioning the prerogative of the Speaker, he said.
He accused the Opposition of sympathising with those aiding and abetting terrorism and fighting the RSS that stood for a national cause. While the BJP took action against a former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader who spoke against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, the Congress and the Opposition had not protested against the hate speeches against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national president Amit Shah.
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Drift from Congress
Asked about reports of prominent State Congress leaders, including Shashi Tharoor, MP, joining the BJP, Mr. Naidu said that no intelligent person would continue in the Congress, a sinking ship, and added that Mr. Tharoor was wise. But he refused to clarify whether the BJP was on talks with prominent Congress leaders in Kerala.
He clarified that only an elected member from the State would be inducted in the Union Cabinet and not from the Rajya Sabha.
Mr. Modi was keen on expanding the NDA and it would have minorities too in its fold, he said.