Congress hits out at PM Modi's planned fast, says protest is a farce

NEW DELHI: Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his planned fast on April 12, in the wake of disruptions during the Budget Session of Parliament. "This is a farce of a fast by PM Modi and BJP," Surjewala said.

Taking a dig at the party, the Congress spokesperson said that the fast should be to seek an apology from the children whose lives have been jeopardised due to the CBSE and SSC scams. 

He went on slamming the Modi government at the Centre and said that they must also apologise to the Dalits by observing the fast. "The fast should be to seek an apology from the children whose lives have been jeopardised due to the CBSE and SSC scams.They should tender an apology to the Dalits," Surjewala told ANI.

The Congress leader's statement comes shortly after PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah announced that they will observe a day-long fast on April 12, Thursday. Along with them, all the BJP MPs will also join the fast observation, they said.

On April 6, the second leg of the Budget Session, which had commenced on January 29, concluded with the Rajya Sabha losing over 121 hours. The Upper House had 30 sittings where the sittings were held for just 44 hours. There was no Question Hour in the Upper House for 27 days due to the uproar causing repeated adjournments, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had said.

Issues like special status to Andhra Pradesh, bank scams, demand for Cauvery water management board, vandalising of statues, review of the recent Supreme Court order on SC/ST Act and law and order situation in Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh were some of the issues on which the House saw the uproar. The House lost nearly three- fourths of its time to disruptions and adjournments.

Upset by the loss of time caused due to disruptions, Naidu called the session 'an eminently forgettable one'. "I am pained to note that it turned out to be an eminently forgettable one on account of utter disregard of the mandate of this important parliamentary institution and its responsibilities and missed opportunities," Naidu had said in his concluding address to the 245th session of Rajya Sabha.

Due to the disruptions, the House could not debate the important Finance Bill 2018 but passed the payment of gratuity law without debate.