NDA Govt running away from Parl, has become an election machine: Congress

New Delhi, Nov 21: Charging the Modi Government with running away from Parliament to avoid discussions on issues like irregularities in the Rafale deal, the faulty implementation of GST and farmers distress that could impact BJP's chances in the Gujarat assembly polls, the Congress on Tuesday said this government had become an election machine.

The Congress said it would give a memorandum in this regard to President Ram Nath Kovind. Addressing a joint press conference with Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Deputy Leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma and AICC spokesperson Deepender Hooda, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said, 'The Government is avoiding calling Parliament as it is afraid of giving answers on issues like the irregularities in the Rafale deal, the faulty implementation of the GST, its failure to create jobs and farmers distress. They know that discussion on these issues in Parliament will expose them in the Gujarat elections.' Calling the NDA Government as an 'election machine', Mr Azad said, 'This is a Central Government that has become a machine for running election. During the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh elections, the entire Union Cabinet had camped in the state for campaigning. A similar thing is happening during the campaigning for the Gujarat assembly polls. 'No Prime Minister in India's post independence history has campaigned so extensively for state assembly elections. In fact, this is a big scam on which a discussion should be held as the expenditure during the campaigning by the PM runs into thousands of scores.' Mr Azad said he, along with Mr Kharge, had met Parliamentary Affairs Minister to call on the Government for calling the session of Parliament immediately. Addressing reporters, Mr Kharge said in the 70 years history of post independence India, this year, Parliament has had the least number of sittings.
'In the last 70 years, Parliament has had the least number of sittings this year. Till now, Parliament has had 38 sittings . Even if the Government calls a sitting of the Winter session now, just ten sittings of Parliament will be possible. They do not want to call Parliament this time as discussion there on various corruption scandals of this Government like the Rafale deal and demonetisation will expose them before the people ahead of the Gujarat assembly elections. For this Government, Parliament has become a joke,' Mr Kharge said. Refuting the charges by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the previous UPA Government has also curtailed sittings of Parliament in 2011, Mr Anand Sharma said, 'In 2011, Parliament was summoned on November 3, 2011. The session began on November 22, 2011 and concluded on December 30.
'In 2012, when elections of Himachal and Gujarat assembly were to be held, the session was held from November 20 to December 20 which coincided with the holding of the elections in Gujarat.' UNI