"A section of the leadership of the
Congress party, because of its inability to lead, has been under
pressure," Jaitley said following Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's
aggressive behaviour in the Lok Sabha when he along with other party
MPs advanced to the Speaker's podium demanding a debate on the rising
incidents of communal clashes in the country.
"Day after day, established leaders of the party are speaking out but for that you need not drag the House or the presiding officer into the debate. If you want to show yourself as doing something, it will be better if you lead your own party rather than develop a contrived aggression against the functioning of the house," Jaitley said.
"It's time for the Congress party to introspect itself," he added.
Taking a dig at Gandhi's accusation that Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was not allowing the Opposition to speak, Jaitley said, "The Congress is saying they are not being allowed to talk but there are some leaders in the party who do not speak at all in the House and yet are leveling such allegations."
"The Congress party has participated in every discussion. At times they have disturbed the house and not allowed it to go on. There is not a single instance where they have not been allowed to raise issues,” he added.
"Day after day, established leaders of the party are speaking out but for that you need not drag the House or the presiding officer into the debate. If you want to show yourself as doing something, it will be better if you lead your own party rather than develop a contrived aggression against the functioning of the house," Jaitley said.
"It's time for the Congress party to introspect itself," he added.
Taking a dig at Gandhi's accusation that Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was not allowing the Opposition to speak, Jaitley said, "The Congress is saying they are not being allowed to talk but there are some leaders in the party who do not speak at all in the House and yet are leveling such allegations."
"The Congress party has participated in every discussion. At times they have disturbed the house and not allowed it to go on. There is not a single instance where they have not been allowed to raise issues,” he added.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu also disapproved of the
allegations levelled by the Opposition against the Speaker, saying such
actions were only "pressure tactics".
"I don't want to take any names but as a Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the way the major opposition party is behaving in Parliament, I am pained by it," he told reporters outside Parliament.
Gandhi had stormed the Well in Lok Sabha demanding a debate on communal tension, charging the Narendra Modi government with not allowing discussion in Parliament where he said only one man's voice is heard.
"We are not being allowed to speak in Parliament. We are asking for discussion. There is a mentality in the government that discussion is not acceptable. Everybody feels it, their party feels it, we feel it, everybody feels it," Gandhi had told reporters outside Parliament.
"I don't want to take any names but as a Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the way the major opposition party is behaving in Parliament, I am pained by it," he told reporters outside Parliament.
Gandhi had stormed the Well in Lok Sabha demanding a debate on communal tension, charging the Narendra Modi government with not allowing discussion in Parliament where he said only one man's voice is heard.
"We are not being allowed to speak in Parliament. We are asking for discussion. There is a mentality in the government that discussion is not acceptable. Everybody feels it, their party feels it, we feel it, everybody feels it," Gandhi had told reporters outside Parliament.
Read more Latest News from India News
