BJP sharpens attack on Rahul Gandhi over Parliament logjam, says don’t panic and run away

The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the Congress amid the ongoing Parliament standoff accusing them of disrupting House proceedings and using student protests for political gains reported the IANSIn a pointed attack on Rahul Gandhi the BJP claimed that his alleged arrogance was a key reason behind the Parliament logjamlsquoTemple of democracyrsquo held hostage BJPAddressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters Sudhanshu Trivedi said the makers of the Constitution would never have imagined that the temple of democracy would become ldquohostagerdquo to the whims fancies and arrogant attitude of any ldquoShehzadardquo a pointed reference to Rahul Gandhi reported IANSldquoBhaago mat daro mat aur kaan kholkar Grih Mantri ka jawaab sunordquo the BJP MP said in Hindi roughly translating to ldquoDonrsquot run donrsquot be frightened and listen to the Home Ministerrsquos reply with open earsrdquoBJP blames Congress for Parliament washoutBlaming Rahul Gandhi and the Congress for the Parliament washout Trivedi said the Oppositionrsquos behaviour over the past few days clearly exhibited its disruption tactics and an alleged attempt to derail House proceedingsHe said the government was quick to address the issues raised by the Opposition but alleged that the Opposition did not keep its wordldquoThey Opposition have been consistently changing the goalposts First they demanded stern action against the paper leak mafia and strict regulations to address flaws in the NEET examinations A new bill was approved by the Cabinet and passed by Parliament the Education Minister stepped down from his post and the cases against unruly elements during the Jantar Mantar demonstration were also withdrawnrdquo the BJP national spokesperson said the news agency reportedlsquoOpposition runs away from debatersquoTrivedi said the government had also agreed to the Oppositionrsquos demand for a reply from the Home Minister but alleged that the Congress had decided to run away from a debateldquoThey insisted on Home Minister Amit Shahrsquos statement on the Delhi Police crackdown The government and Home Minister are ready to give a reply in the House but the Congress party is bent on disrupting the House by not allowing it to functionrdquo the BJP MP said accusing the Congress of holding the House to ransomTrivedi takes dig at CongressClaiming that the Congress has a history of ldquorunning awayrdquo Trivedi said that whenever the government prepares to respond to an issue the Opposition allegedly develops ldquocold feetrdquo and walks out of the HouseHe cited previous instances including the Prime Ministerrsquos reply on the Manipur crisisldquoYou must not be frightened you must not run away from debate You are neither going to Ranchi nor are you listening to the debate that you are demandingrdquo he said reported IANSBJP accuses Congress of lsquomilkingrsquo student protestsTaking another swipe at ldquoChhatron Ki Goonjrdquo a Congress event aimed at mobilising studentsrsquo anger over paper leaks Trivedi said the pain and concerns of protesting students were not audible to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress due to their alleged duplicityldquoThe Congress party is least worried about the causes and interests of students and is rather milking the issue for political pointscoring and their leader Rahul Gandhi is leaving no opportunity to hold the House to ransomrdquo he saidldquoWhen Parliament session is underway he runs away from the House and after the session is over he heads on jaunts at foreign locationsrdquo Trivedi said in a sharp attack on Rahul GandhiWith IANS inputs