The government, however, retaliated that bi-partisanship is simply not there in the BJP’s genes.
After the end of a less than productive monsoon session of Parliament, the opposition BJP is glad it managed to score points through disruptions and debates and pinned the government down on many issues. The government, however, retaliated that bi-partisanship is simply not there in the BJP’s genes.
Though the session lost more than 66 hours of the total 140 hours to disruptions, the BJP claimed it was a successful session for the party. “There was concern for the inability of the government to handle terrorism. There is a sense of exasperation in the people particularly when statements given by office bearers of the Congress convey a clear expression of being soft on terror,” said Sushma Swaraj, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Describing the session as a turning point in Indian politics as it led to a complete loss of credibility of the UPA government, the BJP said the government is at war with its own self. “When the session began, the government had a lot of arrogance, but there was bitterness amongst the seniors in the government by the time it ended,” said Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
Jaitley added: “The prime minister’s leadership to enforce decisions and introduce any standards of probity in the government has suffered a setback. The government is dithering. The ministers pulled in different directions. The Congress was half-hearted in its support to the government. There was an alienation of the government from the Opposition, the people and even from the Congress cadre.”
The party also pointed to the booing of Rahul Gandhi at a hospital after Wednesday’s blast and said it showed people were in a mood to punish the Congress for its soft stand on terror. It is a different matter that its own leaders, too, were booed away.
The government hit back at the Opposition saying that being bi-partisanshp is not in BJP’s DNA.
“I do not recall if any Opposition leader criticised the government when the Parliament House was attacked on 2001. We live in a dangerous neighbourhood and there are terror threats everywhere,” home minister P Chidambaram observed, while emphasising that there are home grown terror modules as well.
“I would not be embarassed if I was heckled by people who are angry,” he quipped while responding to Jaitley’s comment on people protesting ministers visiting the terror victims. “Perhaps the Leader of the Opposition has been out of office for too long to realise that the people do get angry,” Chidambaram added.
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