Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was a "matter of sorrow" that Parliament was not running (Press Trust of India photo)
With repeated disruptions stalling legislation including the GST or Goods and Services Tax, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said it was a "matter of sorrow" that Parliament was not running.
"It is not only GST, but many pro-poor steps are stuck in Parliament," PM Modi said at the Jagran Forum, a conclave organised by the Dainik Jagran group in Delhi.
"Democracy cannot function at the whims and fancies of anyone," he added in his sharpest comments since the
winter session began two weeks ago.
Without referring to the Congress, PM Modi said democracy "cannot be restricted to elections and governments alone". He described the two main dangers in democracy as "mantantra" (doing their fancy) and "dhantantra" (money power)".
He said: ""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?"
The Prime Minister had commented in the early days of the session that Parliament was running smoothly and "
all parties deserved credit" for it.
The GST bill, the government's flagship proposal and the biggest tax reform since independence,
needs to be passed in Parliament to meet the April deadline for its implementation.
The government needs the support of the opposition Congress in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority.
This week, the government-opposition conflict intensified over the National Herald case in which Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi have to appear in court on December 19 to face allegations that they illegally acquired property worth Rs 5,000 crore belonging to the
National Herald newspaper. The petitioner is the BJP's Subramanian Swamy.
The
Congress today forced repeated adjournments in the Rajya Sabha accusing the PM and the ruling BJP of "vendetta politics".
Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi had directly attacked the Prime Minister, alleging, "It is
100 per cent political vendetta. This is pure political vendetta coming out of the PM's office. It is their way of doing politics."