NEW DELHI: Taking a dig at the Congress, whose members have virtually brought Parliament to a standstill on the National Herald case, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asserted “democracy cannot function at the whims and fancies of anyone”.
With repeated disruptions stalling legislation, including the Goods and Services Tax Bill, the Prime Minister said it was a “matter of sorrow” that Parliament was not running”.
Speaking at an event organised by a media house, Modi, without referring to the Congress, said democracy cannot be restricted to elections and governments alone and that one of the two main dangers before it was Mantantra (functioning as per one’s whims and fancies) and the other was Dhantantra (money power).
“You must have seen that these days this (disruptions) is being seen more. Meri Marji (I will do what I desire). I will do whatever comes to my mind. Does the country run like this?” he questioned.
The Prime Minister also said that the poor were not able to get their rights as legislations to benefit them were stuck due to repeated disruptions in Parliament. “It is not only the Goods and Services tax Bill but many pro-poor steps are stuck in Parliament,” he pointed out. “Democracy does not function with Mantantra. The country does not run on its basis. Whatever you may think, but the system does not run like this,” Modi stressed.
The National Herald issue has cast a shadow over Parliament for the last couple of days with Congress members creating an uproar in both the Houses and blocking the passage of several bills.
“It is a matter of sorrow that the poor are not being able to get their rights due to Parliament not functioning. However the talk is only centred on GST versus Parliament. Whatever has to happen with the GST, it will be done in consultation with everybody to decide the fate of India but what about the poor, what about the common man?” Modi asked.