New Delhi/ Nagpur : A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “democracy cannot function at the whims and fancies of anyone” in what was his sharpest attack on the Congress since Parliament’s winter session began two weeks ago, party president Sonia Gandhi dismissed his remarks by saying, “Let him say what he wants.”
Without any reference to Congress, which has held protests in both Houses of Parliament over the National Herald case, PM Modi said democracy cannot be restricted to elections and governments alone and that one of the two main dangers before it is “Mantantra” (functioning as per one’s whims and fancies) with the other being “Dhantantra” (money power).
Modi also said the poor are not being able to get their rights as legislations to benefit them are stuck due to disruptions in Parliament. “It is not only GST(bill) but many pro-poor steps are stuck in Parliament.”
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“You must have seen that these days this(disruptions) is being seen more. Meri Marji (I will do what I desire). I will do whatever comes to my mind. Does the country run like this? Democracy does not function with ‘Mantantra’. The country does not run on its basis. Whatever you may think but the system does not run like this,” Modi said.
“It is a matter of sorrow that the poor are not being able to get their rights due to Parliament not functioning. However the talk is only centred on GST versus Parliament. Whatever has to happen with the GST, it will be done in consultation with everybody to decide the fate of India but what about the poor, what about the common man,” he said .
Meanwhile, protests and disruptions continued in Parliament on Friday following the Congress’s allegations of ‘vendetta politics’ in the National Herald case, in which the Gandhis have to appear before a Delhi court on December 19.
Both Rahul and Sonia have been accused by complainant and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy of transferring ownership of the Associated Journal Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald, to the Young Indian Limited (YIL) – which has the two Congress leaders as directors – for business purposes.
On Thursday evening, Modi had shared the stage with Sonia and Rahul during the 75th birthday celebrations of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in New Delhi. Despite the bitterness, Modi and Rahul even shook hands.
