![]() ![]() |
![]() |
|
|
HOME | NEWS | REPORT |
April 25, 2000
NEWSLINKS
|
Sonia lashes out at Vajpayee, but retires hurt![]() Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi Tuesday's encounter in Parliament was expected to be a clash of the Titans. But it turned out to be nothing but a confrontation between the inexperienced and the experienced -- and the latter won hands down. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's speech, as the leader of the Opposition, winding up the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address saw a jam-packed House, frayed tempers, wholly unnecessary and oft-repeated interruptions, and some bad behaviour by unruly members. Congress members including former MPs crowded the VIP as well as the visitors' galleries to lend moral support to the party chief. But although her speechwriters did a commendable job, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee demolished Gandhi's arguments with ease and elan, indicating that enthusiastic inexperience was no substitute for wit and long years of political life. That the Opposition and treasury benches were charged up for this 'momentous' occasion was apparent from the crowded House. But by the time the prime minister's reply to the debate ended, it was clear that the frequent interruptions, especially by the Opposition benches, robbed them of the chance to buttonhole him on the crucial issue of price rise. Vajpayee managed to skirt the issue as the interruptions consumed much time. A BJP member shouted that the Congress chief should speak in Hindi. Unfazed, she replied: Agli baar main koshish karoongi [I will try the next time]." And the Opposition benches shouted down his member's attempt to rattle the Congress chief. When Gandhi rose to make her speech, the prime minister quipped: "I welcome Shrimati Sonia Gandhi in her first speech as the leader of the Opposition." It triggered a buzz in the Congress and Opposition benches since it certainly was not her first speech. The prime minister's quip thus sharply etched the battle line between the two sides. The Congress chief attacked the government from the word go, underlining that the drafting of the President's speech was "designed to cover up its omissions and commissions." She added, "But our people are alert to this disturbing reality in contradictions" and proceeded to flay the Vajpayee government with cold fury. Referring to secularism in the country, she contended that it was "under repeated assault" by the members of the Sangh Parivar. Then taking a pot-shot at the prime minister, Gandhi contended that "the prime minister has tried to deflect this assault out of compulsion to protect the very fragile coalition he heads." Loud cries of "Shame, shame," were directed towards the treasury benches and Vajpayee. The Congress chief thus scored her first points. Pointing out that her party's quarrel was with the government's "not-so hidden agenda," Gandhi drew protracted applause from her supporters in the Opposition by underscoring that her party would be "unrelenting to preserve and protect the great secular traditions of this great nation." Criticising the government's economic policies, she said the "anti-poor policies of this government" had put such people to great hardships. She lambasted the government's alleged whittling down of the poverty alleviation programmes and took it to task for "messing up the food security system." On the social side, she pointed out the government should have at least gone ahead with "secular education" and criticised it for "its monopoly on nationalism." Intermittent interruptions cropped up from both sections of the House and the speaker was hard pressed to control the members. The heckling elicited a like response from the treasury benches and the mutual mud-slinging was something which a schoolboy should have been ashamed of. It was a valuable commentary on the state of parliamentary etiquette. Gandhi also attacked the government's role in the Indian Airlines aircraft hijacking. "The government bent its knee in the international arena to shamefully appease the terrorists," she said. Its role was unsatisfactory in Jammu and Kashmir where infiltration continued and it was equally dismal in the Northeast "where the government is aggravating the matter," she alleged. The Congress chief ridiculed the Lahore bus diplomacy, saying that even while concluding it the government was unaware about the infiltration by Pakistanis. She criticised the government's policy on non-alignment, underlining that "our foreign policy lurches from one misplaced enthusiasm to another." Her parting shot was, "The prime minister should deal with this problem with a cold, political heart." Vajpayee's reply to the debate was methodical. He took up one by one all of Gandhi's arguments. He thanked President K R Narayanan for his joint address and also for his recent French tour, which has "enriched Indo-French relations." The prime minister said his government was criticised in the wake of the Pokhran explosions that India would be isolated from the international community. He then took a dig at the Opposition. "If we get an opportunity to sit in the Opposition, we will show you how to criticise," he said. He said whereas the world had praised the Lahore bus diplomacy, the Opposition had found it distasteful. This was greeted by loud applause. "We have tackled the economic sanctions in the wake of the Pokhran explosions and even the US, which had led with the sanctions, found it fit to travel to India and enhance the Indo-US economic ties," the prime minister pointed out. More applause. He referred to Kargil as a victory of the nation. Vajpayee pointed out to the Opposition benches that in 1971 as a member of the Opposition, he had congratulated Indira Gandhi on the victory in the Indo-Pak war which resulted in the birth of Bangladesh. He left no doubt that the Opposition benches could have taken a more charitable view of Kargil. It was a masterstroke. Incidentally, when the prime minister rose to reply, an Opposition member wanted him to speak in English. The BJP members and Samajwadi's Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "Let him speak in Hindi." The Opposition member was shouted down. Making a pointed reference to the attack on nuns in Uttar Pradesh, Vajpayee said it had been universally deplored. "But to say that only one party [Congress] will protect secularism is an insult to our country," he averred. "Such incidents should be tackled in a dispassionate manner and not be politically exploited." In his reference to Pakistan, Vajpayee reminded that the day his government assumed power, former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharief had been dislodged by General Pervez Musharraf. "This is the essential difference between India and Pakistan," he said, adding that the authorities in Islamabad needed to know that they could not mouth friendship with India while carrying on hostile activities against New Delhi. Thunderous applause. Referring to President Bill Clinton's recent visit, the prime minister pointed out that the Chattisinghpora massacre of 36 Sikhs had been perpetrated by Pakistan for a decision in its favour regarding Jammu and Kashmir. "Jammu and Kashmir is an inseparable part of India," Vajpayee said to loud cheering. He elicited more cheers by saying that "we refused to come under pressure on the CTBT and that is why we have progressed in the last two years." The Opposition benches heckled at their counterparts in the treasury benches, spurring the prime minister to contend that "when you run out of logical arguments, you resort to anger." But former prime minister Chandra Shekar had a point when he reminded Vajpayee that the government's intention to set up the Constitution review panel should have been announced in the Lok Sabha and that "you have erred on this count." Vajpayee similarly decimated the Opposition arguments and the Opposition benches' interruptions allowed him to skirt the issue of price rise, which is a sore point even among the NDA partners.
|
||||
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
MONEY |
SPORTS |
MOVIES |
CHAT |
INFOTECH |
TRAVEL SINGLES | NEWSLINKS | BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | GIFT SHOP | HOTEL BOOKINGS AIR/RAIL | WEATHER | MILLENNIUM | BROADBAND | E-CARDS | EDUCATION HOMEPAGES | FREE EMAIL | CONTESTS | FEEDBACK |