Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party entered a fresh bout of verbal warfare on Monday after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s remark on Sunday that Congress wears the ‘burqa’ of secularism and hides in a bunker whenever there is a crisis.
Congress retorted by saying that ‘burqa of secularism’ is always better than ‘naked fundamentalism’.
The party has been maintaining that it does not take Modi seriously. But on Monday, the party’s chief spokesperson, Ajay Maken, came out in defence of the party. He said when the campaign in-charge of the principal opposition party himself indulges in spreading falsehood, the Congress naturally will have to retort.
Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha advised Modi not to fall into the trap of the Congress, which wants a ‘communalism versus secularism’ debate in the country. He said real issues like economic crisis and corruption have to be debated.
L.K. Advani has also been maintaining that the BJP should be able to make use of the “policy paralysis” and corruption issues of the Congress-ruled Government. Sinha’s remarks reinforced the fact that all is still not well within the BJP.
The non-BJP, non-Congress Opposition parties have also criticised Modi’s recent comments that there should be consistency in country’s policies.
“This means that he will continue with the anti-people economic policies of the present Government. He will have no remedy to check inflation, protect the rupee and revive the economy,” said Shivanand Tiwari, leader of BJP’s erstwhile partner, Janata Dal (United).
The CPI(M) said Modi is more corporate-friendly than the Congress.
“Modi is more loyal to the corporates than the present UPA regime. He will blindly follow the Congress’s policies, if at all he comes to power. That is why we have been maintaining that what we need is not a change in leadership but a change in policies,” CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, said.
Session from Aug 5
The ongoing political war and decisions like Food Security Ordinance are likely to disrupt the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The Government has decided to convene the session from August 5 to August 30.
Bills such as the Land Acquisition Bill, Insurance Bill, Pension Bill, Companies Bill and the Direct Taxes Code Bill are expected to be discussed during the session.