Sonia Gandhi signals Congress’s intent: ‘First resignations, then discussions’

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi signalled that the party was set to persist with the aggression it displayed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, telling her MPs that they needed to convey the message that the government was protecting the corrupt.

Irrespective of the active support of other opposition parties, Congress is set to stall Lok Sabha proceedings on Wednesday demanding the resignations of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

BJP prepared to hunker down in the face of the Congress onslaught, with senior leaders saying the monsoon session had just begun and the government was prepared to wait it out. The government calculates that Congress may not find it easy to sustain its high-pitched demand for three heavyweight resignations.

At a strategy meet amid turbulence in the Rajya Sabha on the opening day of the monsoon session, Sonia said Lalitgate and Vyapam were people’s issues and Congress could not go back on its demand.

Tha perty plans to hold a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament on Wednesday before taking up Vyapam in the Lok Sabha. It has been decided that Lalitgate will be raised on Thursday. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi will take part in the protest sit-in.

Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and deputy leader Anand Sharma told reporters that Congress had adopted the policy of “first resignation, then discussion”.

Since Congress has a meagre 44 MPs in the Lok Sabha, Sonia has instructed all members to be present to ensure that the party’s feeble voice is not further weakened. Rahul added his voice to the need for sustained protest at Tuesday’s meeting.Parliament

With the unrelenting tone of the party chief raising the prospects of prolonged disruption in Parliament, MP Shashi Tharoor raised a voice of dissent by saying continuous stalling of the Houses would not send a good message. He added that people would not think well about such a move.

BJP sought to counter Congress by agreeing to a discussion on an adjournment motion moved by former minister Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha but the main opposition demanded resignations first. Later, at the meeting of business advisory committee of Rajya Sabha, Congress leaders opposed even allocation of time for bills like amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act.

Making it evident that Congress is committed to disruptions over what it clearly sees as politically juicy issues that expose the Modi government’s flanks, its leaders insisted on questioning even the merits of legislations like repealing of past appropriations.

The decision to up the ante in Lok Sabha where Congress’s weak strength is compounded by its lack of allies indicates that the party does not want to leave matters to Rajya Sabha where it has the numerical muscle to dictate terms.

Sharma said BJP had set the norm of forcing resignations by stalling Parliament during the UPA tenure and could not cry foul now. “We acted against our ministers despite knowing that the charges were not true,” he added.

Asked about allegations against leaders from party-ruled states, Sharma shot back, “Does the BJP government need permission of Congress for action against them?”

Azad said if the government wanted legislations to be passed, it should sack the tainted leaders as was being demanded for over a month since the scams came to light.