Cong ‘intolerant’ towards people’s mandate: Venkaiah

Hyderabad, Feb 7: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday accused the Congress of being “intolerant” towards the mandate of people and indulging in excuses to block important Bills and Parliament proceedings.

“...there is no excuse at all...Congress should stop making excuses and blocking the Bills. Obstruction and blocking of the Bills is blocking progress of the country. And it is Congress which is making excuses saying we are being not consulted,” the parliamentary affairs minister said.

“We never ignore anybody, we are consulting all parties. Umpteen number of times, Congress has been spoken to. Even prime minister has invited Congress president and even I have been to the house of Congress president twice...there is no question of ignoring,” Venkaiah said.

“What we inherited from Congress party is fiscal deficit, revenue deficit, trade deficit, current account deficit and above all trust deficit. Now those deficits are over and India is moving forward and they should recognise that and should not find excuses to block the bills and block the Parliament,” he said.

The senior BJP leader ac- cused the Congress of being “intolerant” to people's mandate and asked the party to realise it and support the gover nment. “They (Congress) should function democratically and they should understand the spirit of democracy and respect mandate of people. They are intolerant towards the mandate of the people. Mandate is for Modi, mandate is for development and mandate is for good governance.”

He sought to know where are the excuses (from the government side). Prime Minister Narendra Modi is moving ahead and now inter national recognition and respect has come to India, he stressed.

Venkaiah said the economy worldwide has slowed down, but India is moving forward. India is the most favourite destination, according to the World Bank, ADB, IMF, the World Economic Forum and everybody is saying with one voice.

“(There is) Inter national slow down, China is going negative and India is moving forward...where is the question of finding excuses?” the Union minister asked. He was reacting to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's recent comments that the PM should stop making excuses and start running the country.

On the forthcoming Budget session, he said, “In the upcoming Parliament session, my priority is GST bill, real estate development bill, and bankruptcy bill. There are few more Bills. I only hope the Opposition join hands to pass these progressive Bills which will help the country,” Venkaiah said.

The GST, in fact, will increase the GDP by 1.5-2%. That being the case, I don't think why anybody should oppose the bill, except for political reasons, Venkaiah said. “Obstructing the bill is obstructing the progress and growth of the country and affecting the poor and common people. I hope the political parties understand this and come forward to support.” PTI

Venkaiah Naidu