Govt has always tried to build consensus with Opposition, says Venkaiah Naidu

Blaming the Congress for stalling Parliamentary proceedings, Union Minister for Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that the Congress is yet to reconcile with its defeat and has become intolerant to the mandate of the people.

“Umpteen number of times we have reached out. I went to Sonia Gandhi's (All India Congress Committee President) residence seeking cooperation. We (Government) are also in touch on a party to party and leaders to leaders basis,” the the Minister said at the concluding session of The Huddle here. “However, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to the criticism by the Opposition, Parliament was not allowed to function," he added.

In his conversation with the Raghavan Srinivasan, Editor of

The Hindu BusinessLine , who pointed out at the lack of national consensus that has resulted in stalling of Parliament, the Minister said: “The Opposition must have its say and government should have its way because the mandate is with the Government. They (Congress) are not able to digest the fact that Modi, who has no prior international and national experience, is becoming increasingly popular both inside and outside India.” Taking a dig at the Opposition for raising slogans within Parliament, he said: “Dynasty is nasty for democracy, but tasty for some.” He also said that the Communist parties have become irrelevant in the country.

Offering an example as to how the Government was reaching to other parties, Naidu said: “to gather support to the GST Bill ahead of Parliament's nod, the Prime Minister spoke to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J. Jayalalithaa seeking her support. While she expressed apprehension over manufacturing States losing out in the GST regime, he convinced her. In return, she promised to abstain from voting. To bring a broader national consensus, he pointed out that the NDA government allowed States to decide on matter of acquiring land for projects, which showed the Centre’s flexibility.

Naidu felt: “Citizens are aghast at what is happening in Parliament. The public opinion, media and the opinion of enlightened people should change the way the Parliamentary proceedings are conducted.