Blackmail is BJP’s bread and butter: Sonia Gandhi

Mangalore Today / NDTV

New Delhi, August 28: Congress president Sonia Gandhi met with her party’s MPs this morning for a counter-offensive against the opposition BJP, which is demanding the PM’s resignation over a coal controversy and says that till then, it will not allow Parliament to function. 

 

Mrs Gandhi said that "blackmail has become the bread and butter of the BJP." Describing the paralysis of Parliament, engineered by the BJP as "a matter of shame and regret," she said "this the handiwork of just one party, the BJP...this once again shows up the scant respect it has for democratic values." Mrs Gandhi has not forgiven BJP leader LK Advani’s remark in Parliament earlier this month, when he had described the government as "illegitimate."  In a rare display of temper, she had urged her senior ministers to take on Mr Advani at the time. Today, she said, Mr Advani’s comment amounts to "mocking the people of India for the convincing mandate they have given us. "


Mrs Gandhi’s rallying of her troops comes a day after the PM said he "takes full responsibility"  for the policies followed by his government in allocating coal fields; Dr Manmohan Singh however said allegations that these policies cost the country thousands of crores are baseless and disputable.  With the BJP determined to leverage corruption scandals in its campaign ahead of crucial state elections later this year, Mrs Gandhi warned her MPs, "We have nothing it be defensive about...let us stand up and fight, fight with a sense of purpose and fight aggressively."

The national auditor said in a report earlier this month that private companies gained 1.86 lakh crores because coal mines were not auctioned and were sold to them at under-valued prices. The BJP says that because the PM held direct charge of the Coal Ministry, he must quit.  So far, the BJP has disrupted parliament for six days; it’s not clear if it will extend this strategy for the rest of the monsoon session which ends on September 8. Each day of Parliament in session costs taxpayers two crores.

The government has been urging the BJP to debate the coal controversy in Parliament.  Some of the BJP’s own allies also say they want to hold the PM accountable but through a detailed discussion.  Yesterday, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said that even if its allies disagree with its strategy and the BJP were to stand alone, it would be  "a magnificent isolation."

Finance Minister P Chidambaram retorted that "Every day that elected leaders do not meet and debate in parliament is a slap on the face of the people who elected us."