Narendra Modi raps Congress mantantra

They can not blame either the government or the BJP.

The Congress on Friday said the National Herald case was the not the reason it has been continuously disrupting Parliament.

Expressing his disappointment, the Prime Minister said that democracy “cannot be restricted to elections and government only” and everyone must feel that he or she is working for the country’s progress. “That action has so far not been taken”.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Saturday accused Union finance minister Arun Jaitley of terming the National Herald case as an offence under the Income-Tax (I-T) Act and giving an “indication” to the I-T department to issue notice to his party in the matter.

Asked about government not going for privatisation of PSUs as done during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, Jaitley said the Government has in past one-and-a-half years raised more than the cumulative disinvestment proceeds of five years between 1999-2004. After hearing, the High Court dismisses it. Now you either go to trial court or you challenge it in Supreme Court.

“These are clearly afterthoughts in order to delay GST, I have no doubt in my mind”, Jaitley said.

“But, the results of legal battles are always uncertain”.

“Not just GST, but many pro-poor steps are stuck in Parliament”, the Prime Minister said at the Jagran Forum, a conclave organised by a media house in Delhi. “By disrupting democracy the financial web created by the Congress leaders can not be undone”, he said. The minister said there was equality before the law for everyone. “Democracy is strengthened by Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation)”, said Modi.

There have been daily disruptions in Parliament, with no business being transacted in the Rajya Sabha all this week. Stating that the Congress has formed its argument on a wrong basis, he asked whether any of its leaders has ever received a letter from the ED. “But you (Congress) presume and then repeat it again and again and start believing in it. And start paralysing the country’s democracy”, he said, referring to the party stalling Parliament alleging “vendetta politics”. The two parties boycotted the House’s proceedings for the day after the said member, Virendra Singh, refused to apologise, although parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said any personal remarks should be condemned.

Despite the standoff in Parliament and outside over the National Herald issue, Jaitley has held meetings with Azad and Sharma to iron out differences over Congress demands to scrap one per cent additional tax, setting up of a dispute settlement mechanism and capping the GST rate at 18 per cent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s long-awaited national goods and services tax (GST) is expected to spur investments and boost economic output by simplifying a thicket of local levies.