He said that ‘We have absolutely no hesitation even at the level of Prime Minister, we have never had in it in the past, we don’t have it (now).
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The only way the BJP can avoid an intolerance wash-out is if Modi himself takes the lead and makes the government’s stance clear and this is precisely what the Congress has been demanding.
That the government was not in any mood to rile the Opposition was apparent when Parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu told reporters on Monday that the government was ready to walk the extra mile to reach out to it. “A good beginning has been made for the session”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will return from Paris on Tuesday. He mentioned an incident when Ram Manohar Lohia, who was in the Opposition, stood up to criticise the Nehru government in House and to which Nehru said though he did not agree with the statement, he upheld the socialist leader’s right to disagree. “You can ring me any time on issues that need our serious consideration”, Modi is said to have told his predecessor at the end of their meeting at 7, Race Course Road on Friday. He attempted to set the record straight that he had denied the previous governments their place in history. “I have said this from the Red Fort”.
“They are thinking that they are hurting the Prime Minister and BJP, but they are hurting the interests of the country and they should understand that”. The same spirit has also come to the fore on other pressing occasions.
Instead it has chided Modi for going on a series of foreign trips since the Bihar landslide and neglecting his work at home. “Consensus is more important that a majority”, he said during the day of the discussion.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Saturday said the Congress Party can give a green signal to the Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST) in the Parliament only if the Centre comes out with a formula for addressing their three demands. After many rounds of informal dialogue with senior Congress leaders over the last few weeks, the party is nearly certain that little headway is possible till the Congress president is out of the country. Having fought each other bitterly till now, the two sides were a picture of cordiality today. “We hope there will be a positive response from the Opposition parties, especially Congress, and it can be passed in the Rajya Sabha without a hitch”, he said.
Speaking at an event in Bangalore, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, repeated that his party is all for GST provided the Modi government doesn’t show off its majoritarian approach to opposition and discuss issues to resolve the differences on GST.
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At the all-party meeting held on 25 November in the backdrop of actor Aamir Khan’s remarks on “growing intolerance”, opposition parties had made a strong pitch for an early discussion on the issue, insisting that returning of awards by writers, artistes and filmmakers should not be taken lightly.
