NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House over the Delhi slum demolition drive and the incident of the limbs of two Dalit men being chopped off in Punjab and accused him of not fulfilling his ‘Parliamentary’ responsibilities.
“These incidents were inhumane and of the lowest possible order and we want the Prime Minister to answer our questions in the Parliament. We are trying to attract the government’s attention to these issues and will continue to raise them,” Congress leader Pramod Tiwari told ANI.
He also slammed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for questioning the Congress for stalling the Parliament and saying that the Delhi and Punjab issues were ‘small and insignificant’.
“I am saddened and uncomfortable that Jaitley thinks that the issues that we are raising are small. What can be more barbaric than a man’s hands and legs being chopped off? Even the High Court said that what happened in Delhi was inhumane, that when the cold was at its most bitter, the demolition drive was carried out and Jaitley thinks it’s a small matter,” Tiwari said.
Jaitley had yesterday questioned the frequent disruptions in Parliament over several issues like the National Herald Case and the law and order situation in Punjab, etc and said the approved Constitutional Amendment Bill on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is still waiting to be discussed.
"The last session of the Parliament did not function. The current session of the Parliament is also threatened with a wash out. The reasons for the wash out of the current session keep changing by the hour. The nation is waiting for the Parliament to discuss public issues, to legislate and approve a historic Constitution Amendment enabling the GST," Jaitley said in his blog on Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Parliament,” he said in his Facebook blog.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday also said Parliament should function through debate, dissent and decision and not disruption.
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha faced repeated adjournment as Congress protested over the Punjab situation and insisted on the dismissal of the SAD-led government in Punjab for its inability in maintaining law and order.