Sore NDA allies hit out at govt in show of unity
■ TDP, Sena protest in House
It was a day of NDA allies rising against the Narendra Modi government in Parliament. While Telugu Desam Party MPs created a ruckus and marred the proceedings in both Houses on Tuesday, claiming the Union Budget didn’t offer anything to Andhra Pradesh and that the Centre had failed to grant a special status or package to the state, the Shiv Sena attacked the government for ignoring its allies and said the Assembly election results in Gujarat and the byelection results in Rajasthan should be a “wakeup call” for the Centre.
Vociferous protests by members of NDA ally TDP and the YSR Congress ( the principal Opposition party in the Andhra Assembly) marred proceedings in the Lok Sabha as the government termed these demands as “very sensitive” and pledged that they would be looked into.
The Lower House saw two brief adjournments in the afternoon and once during Question Hour owing to the protests. In the Rajya Sabha too, the TDP MPs were seen standing in the Well of the House, holding placards and banners. Despite finance minister Arun Jaitley’s pledge in the Upper House that an alternative mechanism could be worked out to look into their demand for a special package, the agitating MPs could not be convinced.
Later, while participating in the discussion on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul, reminding the government about its
slogan “Sabka saath sabka vikas”, said it does not bode well if members of one’s own family are ignored and not taken into confidence.
Citing several examples from the Centre’s schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and the skill development programme, Mr Adsul said while the intent of the programmes were good, there was nothing to show on the ground in terms of their implementation.
He was also scathing about how demonetisation had dented the country’s economy and adversely affected all small businesses.
The Shiv Sena MP from Amravati urged the government that it should do some introspection and actually act on the principle of “Sabka saath sabka vikas”. Mentioning the Gujarat poll results ( where the BJP just managed to form the government) and the BJP’s loss in byelections in Rajasthan, the Shiv Sena MP said that this itself shows what could happen in future.