BJP killing Parliamentary democracy: Uttam

Hyderabad, July 30 (Maxim News): Congress MP & former TPCC President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday alleged that the BJP’s style of functioning was dangerous for Parliamentary democracy in India.

Uttam Kumar Reddy has strongly condemned the BJP MPs for misbehaving and heckling Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the sacred premises of Parliament. He said Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary’s remarks on President Draupadi Murmu were inadvertent slip of tongue. He immediately expressed regret and also apologised for the same. However, BJP made it a big issue and tried to drag Sonia Gandhi Ji into the controversy. “After the Lok Sabha was adjourned, Union Minister Smriti Irani and a few other BJP MPs heckled her. They behaved in a demeaning and disgraceful manner,” he said.

He said that by shouting slogans against Sonia Gandhi, a senior Parliamentarian , one of the great leaders of this era, President of a national party and a 75-year-old lady, BJP has stooped down to a new low in its long history of undermining Parliamentary democracy.

Reddy accused the BJP of trying to score political points by constantly referring to the caste and gender of someone who holds the highest constitutional post of the President of India by referring to her caste and gender. The day Smt. Draupadi Marmu got elected, she became the President of the entire country. We are all proud of her being a woman and she hailed from the Adivasi background. But today, she is the representative and leader of all Indians, irrespective of their caste, religion, region or gender,” he said. Smt Draupadi Murmu is our President. We will honour and respect her.

The Congress MP asked BJP leaders to stop enacting the dramas of ‘defending President Marmu’. “She is the President of India and the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces. She doesn’t need any sympathy and protection from BJP leaders. Every citizen of this country loves and respects her. Therefore, BJP leaders must stop giving statements which reduce the stature of the President of India,” he demanded.

He said that the BJP Govt does not want to discuss any issue concerning the common man in the Parliament. “As many as 10 days have passed since the beginning of monsoon session and nothing about the common public has been discussed. It is the responsibility of the government to run the House. But the BJP Govt is scared of having any discussion.

He described the suspension of opposition MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as ‘unprecedented’ and ‘unfair’. “When BJP was in opposition, its leaders including Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj had stated that holding a protest in the well of the House was a form of Parliamentary democracy. But today they are finding fault with the same act,” he said.

“BJP doesn’t want to discuss the rising fuel prices or the imposition of GST on food grains. It is running away from discussion on the falling rupee which reflects the poor state of the Indian economy. BJP Govt is not willing to talk about the Agnipath scheme which will jeopardise the nation’s security. At the beginning of the monsoon session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the government wants to have a productive and constructive discussion on all issues. His words and directions to his MPs don’t match each other. BJP MPs manipulated the stalling of the House. As a first-time Parliamentarian, I feel sad that the precious time of the Parliament was not being used for the general good,” he said. (Maxim News)

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