Swamy Takes Oath in Upper House, Puts Gandhis on Notice
NEW DELHI: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, newly-nominated to the Rajya Sabha, began from the word go. Even as congratulations poured in after he took oath on Tuesday, Swamy was busy putting a notice for a discussion on the multi-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam.
Not known to mince his words or nuance his politics, Swamy told his fellow members and the media that the law would catch up with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi - “ma-beta” — will “be behind bars.” And, it was Swamy who rather grandly disclosed that he has given a notice in the Rajya Sabha for discussion on the chopper deal on Wednesday.
Congress MPs will object since a nominated MP cannot give notices of public importance. But BJP has an answer to that:Mani Shankar Aiyar, the just-retired Congress nominated Rajya Sabha member, used to regularly take part in current affairs discussions, join in protests and made sharp comments on “burning issues.”Aiyar was also a minister in the UPA government and a senior BJP MP claimed Swamy may soon get a portfolio. According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah picked Swamy for the nomination without bothering to consult other senior leaders/ministers, some of whom previously had opposed his entry into Parliament and the Union Cabinet.
The BJP sources also said the Rajya Sabha nomination came as a recognition for his anti-Congress politics, especially the manner in which he pursued the National Herald case.