New Delhi: Even though the Congress had issued whip to all its 44 Lok Sabha MPs to be present during party Vice President Rahul Gandhi's speech on the Land Acquisition Bill in the House, 16 lawmakers including Congress President Sonia Gandhi were missing during the debate.
Apart from Sonia Gandhi, another prominent MP who was not present was Kamal Nath. Sonia Gandhi did not attend Parliament as she was meeting a farmers' delegation at her residence in Delhi. While MPs missing debates in Parliament is nothing unusual but such a case normally does not take place when a party has issued a whip.
Congress has faced several electoral reverses in the last couple of years putting a question mark over Rahul's leadership. The party plummeted to its worst ever show in a Lok Sabha election winning just 44 seats as the Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party scripted history by becoming the first party ever apart form the Congress to win absolute majority.
Some senior Congress leaders have expressed their reservations about Rahul taking over as party President from his mother Sonia. His mysterious sabbatical which started before the Budget Session and ended on April 15 has further fuelled speculation about Rahul's ability to take politics seriously.
He tried to once again dispel the doubt by taking a combative stance on Land Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha. During the debate in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Rahul accused the Narendra Modi government of being anti-farmers and pro-corporate. Taking a dig at Modi's suit which had his name written all over it, Rahul called the Central government a 'suit boot wali sarkar'.
Continuing from where he had stopped on Sunday at the Congress Kisan Khet Mazdoor rally in New Delhi, Rahul while speaking on the Land Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government and said that the 'achche din' government has failed the country.
"The government is ignoring the plight of farmers and is not paying heed to the condition of labourers. Farmers are not getting credits in NDA's rule," Rahul said. "The government is weakening the farmers and will then strike them down with this ordinance," he added.
The Congress Vice President said Modi government is talking about weapons for defence forces but is ignoring the plight of farmers who have suffered heavy losses due to unseasonal rains and hailstorm.
This was Rahul's first appearance in the Budget Session of Parliament. He had taken a break and left the country for a sabbatical in mid February just before the start of Budget Session and came back on April 15.
He also advised Modi to speak to the affected farmers and get a ground report. "The Prime Minister should go out and speak to farmers. Why does not the PM himself visit the farmers and the see the ground reality?"
While Rahul was speaking in Parliament BJP MPs continuously took pot shots at him by continuously passing comments about his whereabouts during his mysterious leave.
Comments
0 comment