Jaitley refutes Sonia Gandhi’s charges of BJP ‘sabotaging’ winter session
NEW DELHI : Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday hit back at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for accusing the Modi government of delaying the convening of the Winter Session of Parliament. The BJP leader said that rescheduling of Parliament sessions has happened several times before during election time.
The Winter session of Parliament usually starts in the third week of November and lasts until the third week of December. A few hours after Congress president Sonia Gandhi accused the Narendra Modi-led government of delaying the winter session of Parliament on “flimsy grounds”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “Winter session will definitely take place and the government will announce dates soon.”
Jaitley said the Opposition party had also delayed a session in 2011 and even earlier because the sittings coincided with election campaigns. “It has been a tradition and it has happened several times that Parliament sessions are rescheduled when an election is happening,” he told reporters.
The Congress president’s allegations is based on the Central government’s delaying of winter session of parliament, which usually begins in November and runs for four weeks. Gandhi had said, “Modi-led government in its arrogance has cast a dark shadow on India’s parliamentary democracy by sabotaging the winter session of parliament on flimsy grounds,”
Replying to Gandhi, Jaitley talking to reporters in poll-bound Gujarat’s Rajkot said, “The winter session will definitely take place and the government will announce the dates soon.”The finance minister added, “The prime minister and other top ministers are campaigning for the Gujarat elections in December, the winter session of parliament has yet to be called.”
Jaitley also added, “Parliament sessions have delayed earlier and it has happened several times. Seeing the election dates sessions were rescheduled earlier too.”The finance minister added that the Congress had delayed winter session in 2011 and even before that. “Winter session will be certainly held and Congress will be exposed.”
Gandhi, earlier in the day had said, “The Prime Minister had the audacity to have a midnight celebration in Parliament to launch an ill prepared and flawed GST but today he lacks the courage to face Parliament.”
face Parliament”.
