Chidambaram said that when PM Modi met Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh, the Congress had pointed out the shortcomings in the present bill and PM Modi himself agreed to look into these points.
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On Congress protests which resulted in the stalling of proceedings in Parliament, Mr. Gandhi said, “As far as the stalemate in Parliament is concerned, an impression is being given that we (Congress) are not interested on the GST issue”. It stalled passage of legislation that could ease the lives of the poor.
The Congress have called the case a “proxy litigation” and alleged “political vendetta” by the NDA government.
“Enforcement Directorate has not issued any notice to them, income tax authorities will only follow their own procedure and the government has not passed any order whatsoever and has no role in this entire episode of National Herald”, he said.
Indeed, Mamata Banerjee with whose Trinamool Congress the Congress party is seeking an understanding to counter the BJP in Bengal, has been quoted as saying: “It is sad that Sonia was asked to appear in court”. The high court refused to quash the summons issued to the Congress leaders in the lower court. As it appears, the party has gained some traction from its allegation: the Centre’s “political vindictiveness against the Congress leadership”.
“They have acquired properties worth huge amounts without spending anything”.
If so-called “common citizens” can, and are, obliged to answer charges made against them in the courts of the land, should politicians be exempt from this obligation on the grounds that they are the targets of a political vendetta? Rupees ninety crores from amongst the funds collected by the Congress Party are given to the newspaper company.
“If they now go back to raise issues which they raised in the previous session, people are going to ask them why they forgot them in the interim period”. But the results of legal battles are always uncertain. “By disrupting democracy, the financial web created by the Congress leaders can not be undone”, he added.
“People only talk about GST and parliament but there are also several other measures for the poor that are pending in parliament”.
Congress today continued with its protests in the Lok Sabha against the “defamatory” comments of a BJP member against its leaders and staged a walkout, along with Trinamool, RJD and JD(U), after their demand for an apology from him drew no assurance from either the Speaker or government.
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“The Parliament is not functioning, particularly the upper house”. It was the same when opposition parties sought the removal of Union minister VK Singh for his offensive remark about Dalits, Azad remarked.
