Parl disruptions: Congress accuses BJP of playing politics

New Delhi: Toughening its stand, Congress on Monday attacked BJP for “playing politics” through disruptions as Parliament failed to transact normal business for the sixth consecutive day amid protests over the coal scam. “If the Opposition is unreasonable, then it is not just the government’s responsibilty to run Parliament. You cannot make unreasonable demands and then say that the ruling party should accept the unreasonable demand…,” party spokesperson Sandip Dikshit told reporters in New Delhi at the AICC briefing. Accusing BJP of using some issues as a pretext to block the passage two crucial bills of UPA on food security and land acquisition, he said that the Opposition party was doing it for political gains in Karnataka assembly elections. “What BJP is doing is only politics. There is not an iota of public welfare in what they are engaging in,” he said. Dikshit rejected the contentions that the logjam in Parliament continues in the wake of the Opposition charge that Law Minister Ashwini Kumar ‘intefered’ with the functioning of CBI and that he was not replying to the allegation against him. “Nobody is shying away from a debate but a debate can happen only when Parliament runs. We are ready for a debate… The Law Minister should be given an opportunity to make his stand clear,” the Congress spokesperson said. Dikshit left it to the Law Minister to answer when asked for a categorical reply on whether Congress believes that there was nothing wrong in what he did. “We are not saying he has done no wrong or he has done no right. He has done what he thinks to be correct and he is the most able person to answer that. He has been constantly maintaining that what he has done is within the parameters of what are within his power. Let us give him an opportunity to clarify himself,” he said. Singh said there was a need to change the present situation created by the BJP and promised the people to give a clean and corrupt-free government if Congress is voted to power. “We will pay attention to (improving) business and agriculture; speed up the pace of infrastructure development, irrigation, electricity and road projects. We will make Karnataka one of the most developed states in the country.” Singh said Congress government alone can take Karnataka on the growth path and work for people’s welfare. The Prime Minister also rapped the BJP government for paying “little attention” towards improving infrastructure in Bangalore and said many industries were relocating to Hyderabad and Pune because of problems in Karnataka. The Congress, if voted to power, would give “top priority” to create world class infrastructure for the world class city of Bangalore, he said. Singh also said the government was working on creating Bangalore-Chennai industry corridor that would create job opportunities and connect the two cities to the world market. PTI