New Delhi. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi has said that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) approach towards parliamentary democracy will not change as long as Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister. But at the same time, he said that like a game of football, this time the defense line of the opposition alliance ‘India’ has become very strong in Parliament because it has more than 230 MPs.
Speaking to editors of news agency PTI at its headquarters, Gogoi also claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to complete its term. He said that Prime Minister Modi’s leadership style does not create confidence that this government can run successfully for five years.
Gogoi, a Lok Sabha member from Jorhat in Assam, said, “I see that in the presence of 236 MPs of the ‘India’ alliance, this will be a Parliament where they (the ruling party) cannot pass bills arbitrarily, cannot intimidate us, cannot suspend us.” He asked, “The government had suspended 146 MPs (last year). Will they suspend 236 this time?” Gogoi was the deputy leader of the Congress in the House in the last Lok Sabha.
Gogoi also rejected the notion that NDA allies Telugu Desam Party leader Chandrababu Naidu and Janata Dal (U) leader Nitish Kumar had left it to the BJP to form the government. He said both these leaders have “very clever political minds” and one should not be quick to judge them as “only time will tell what their real intentions are.” The Congress leader said he did not expect any change in the BJP’s approach to parliamentary democracy as long as Modi is the prime minister.
There is no need to belittle each other on the basis of numbers: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said that he will try his best to take everyone along for the smooth conduct of Parliament proceedings. He also stressed that there should be no need to belittle each other in Parliament on the basis of numbers. Rijiju made this remark after taking charge as Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the presence of his predecessor Prahlad Joshi and Ministers of State Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan.
He said, “We do not need to belittle each other on the basis of numbers. People use muscle power outside the Parliament but inside the House we should have a good debate and express our views boldly.” Rijiju appealed to all political parties to contribute in maintaining the dignity of the Parliament. He said, “I have come here with a positive attitude. We will make every effort to take everyone along and run the Parliament.”