Coinciding with the first cracks in the Opposition ranks -- with the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav taking a different line on the continued disruption of monsoon session of Parliament -- the Congress on Monday took its fight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's doorsteps, beyond the demand of resignations of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje.
The party attributed the PM's silence on the Lalit Modi issue to his alleged past "close relationship" with former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, taking the battle too far, with no point of return.
Yadav, who expressed solidarity with Congress against the suspension of 25 of its MPs for unruly behaviour, said, "Enough is enough". He told Congress that his party will not back disruptions in Parliament anymore. "We will not back you if you keep protesting," he said.
Undeterred, Congress, which has taken its political stakes too far, released documents to show there was a linkage between the former IPL commissioner and Gujarat Cricket Board. Party spokesman and former Union minister Kapil Sibal alleged that Lalit Modi had tried to help two industrialists, one of whom was from Gujarat, in getting them an IPL franchise when Narendra Modi and Amit Shah were president and vice president of the Gujarat Cricket Association in 2009.
Sibal also did not spare finance minister Arun Jaitley. He said Jaitley was a signatory to the inquiry report dated June 10, 2013 and yet he did not file an FIR that would have exposed "the conflict of interest of his master (read Narendra Modi)."
Meanwhile, in the wake of Samajwadi Party coming out to break the Parliament stalemate, the Congress leaders were quick to assert that they too want Parliament to function but for the adamant government. Topping all comments of Congress, its vice-president Rahul Gandhi said Parliament will start functioning the moment Sushma Swaraj disclosed money credited by Lalit Modi into her and her family's bank accounts. "Please explain to the country and the people of India, how much money has been credited to you and your family's bank account by Lalit Modi? Tell it straight, the House will function," Rahul said while talking to reporters. He was hinting at Sushma's daughter being lawyer of Lalit Modi who got him back his passport from Delhi High Court last year.
BJP spokesman Shrikant Sharma said: "Rahul Gandhi is a brand ambassador of corruption, commission and bad governance. If there is any truth in the allegations he is levelling against Sushma Swaraj, then why is he running away from debating Parliament?" He asked Rahul to stop indulging in politics of mudslinging.
In a related development in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley asserted that the daily agitation by the Congress in the House on Sushma issue was only a ruse to prevent passage of the Constitution Bill for ushering in the new GST (Goods and Services Tax).
The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which ends in four days, has been gridlocked, forcing stalling of crucial legislations Last week, 25 Congress members of the Lok Sabha were suspended for five days for brandishing placards and rushing to the well of the House.
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