We played constructive role to pass bills: Congress

Taking full credit for the passage of several bills in the first part of the Budget Session of Parliament due to its “constructive role”, the main Opposition Congress on Thursday cautioned the government not to weaken the Rajya Sabha mainly because the NDA lacks a majority in the Upper House.

While thanking the CPI, CPI(M) and JD(U) for voting on its amendments to the Aadhaar Bill in the Upper House, it asked why the Prime Minister does not speak in Parliament about his foreign visits. This has never happened in the past, it said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and senior Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily raised these issues and the Congress’ performance in the two Houses of Parliament at a joint press conference here.

Cautioning the government not to bypass or ignore the RS in the passage of bills simple because the BJP-led front lacks majority, Mr Azad said even the Congress did not have a majority in the RS during the tenure of Indira Gandhi but it did not bypass the Upper House. Weakening the RS is anti-democratic, he said.

Seeking to take credit for the passage of several bills, Mr Moily said, “RS functioned at 129 per cent of the scheduled time and Lok Sabha at 120 per cent. This is in contrast to the performance of the Opposition led by the BJP during UPA-2, when the House wasn’t allowed to function.”

Mr Azad said it was on the insistence of the Congress, and not the government, that there were extra sittings of Parliament. “Without the cooperation of Congress, no legislation would have been passed in the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

Mr Azad insisted that the amendments passed in the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address and the Aadhaar Bill had sent a “strong message” to the government to “not take the Rajya Sabha lightly”.

He claimed the PM had refused to answer “any of the issues” raised by the Opposition, including the Pathankot terror attack, farmers suffering due to unseasonal rains, black money, and the Vijay Mallya issue. “Sadly, the Prime Minister did not respond to any of these questions.”

Attacking the government on its claim of streamlining defence purchases, Mr Azad said, “The government didn’t streamline defence procurement but ended it.” Citing an example, he said that when the UPA was in power it was decided to go in for 126 Rafale fighter jets with the deal including transfer of technology from France. “We were to receive 18 jets and 108 jets were to be manufactured by HAL. This was Make in India. But the PM and his new government scrapped the deal. Instead they decided to buy 36 ready-made jets,” he said.

Noting that this deal was set to be signed during the Republic Day visit of French President Francois Hollande, he said it has been three months and there is still “no deal”.