The contours of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government’s counter-offensive against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi were unveiled on Tuesday.
After deliberating over its response to Gandhi’s sustained campaign against the government in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular, the ruling alliance decided to hit back by pitting two of its vocal and aggressive women ministers against the Congress leader both inside and outside Parliament.
Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani was especially dispatched to Gandhi’s constituency of Amethi to pin him down and steal his thunder.
Revenge politics
Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur was fielded in the Lok Sabha to rubbish the Congress vice-president’s charge that the National Democratic Alliance government had cancelled plans for a food park in Amethi that was sanctioned by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. Raising this issue in the Lok Sabha last week, Rahul Gandhi had described this move as an act of revenge politics.
On his part, Gandhi also plunged into the arena by launching yet another scathing attack on Tuesday against the NDA government’s move to dilute the 2013 Land Acquisition Bill passed by the UPA government.
Participating in the debate on the bill in the Lok Sabha, the Congress leader reiterated the charge that the Modi government was a “suit-boot ki sarkar” and that it had amended the land acquisition bill to help its friends in the corporate sector.
BJP member Dilip Singh Bhuria took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, asking, “But what about jijaji”, referring to the Congress leader’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra, who has been in the eye of a storm following questionable land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan.
Government is unnerved
While the Congress was thrilled that Gandhi had managed to sufficiently unnerve the Modi government, the BJP’s decision to take on the Congress vice-president is a departure from its earlier stand that it should not dignify his outbursts with a response. “The BJP is obviously rattled by Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against the NDA government,” remarked a senior Congress office bearer.
There is no denying that the BJP was flummoxed by Gandhi’s sudden display of aggression after he returned last month from his 56-day unexplained sabbatical. Already hurt at losing the perception war over the land bill, the BJP was further taken aback at the change in the mood in the Congress ranks after the party vice-president decided to lead from the front. Congress MPs who had earlier appeared listless and directionless suddenly came to life. Rahul Gandhi’s active approach and Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s personalised attack against Modi energised party cadres as they realised that they were back in the fight.
The BJP felt it could not allow Rahul Gandhi to run away with the narrative, particularly since he had started grabbing headlines, sometimes even relegating Modi to the background.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley first took a swipe at Gandhi during the course of his reply to the finance bill when he countered Gandhi’s description of the NDA government as a “soojh boojh ki Sarkar” – a wise government. Subsequently, party spokespersons were fielded to poke fun at the Congress leader.
But the double offensive launched by the NDA government on Tuesday was clearly a well thought-out plan. It was no coincidence that Smriti Irani travelled to Amethi a week before Rahul Gandhi is slated to visit his constituency.
Irani was quick to deny that she was pre-empting the Congress leader and that she had come to listen to the woes of distressed farmers who had been ignored by their MP. However, the real purpose of her trip became evident when she launched a diatribe against Gandhi, stating that he was missing and had not come to his constituency since his return from his sabbatical.
Irani had lost to Gandhi in the last Lok Sabha election from Amethi though she had put up a spirited fight and managed to reduce his victory margin. It was, therefore, appropriate that she should have been picked to battle the Congress leader on his home turf. However, this is only her second trip to Amethi in the year since the Lok Sabha election.
Rebutting allegations
While the HRD minister was holding forth in Amethi, it was Harsimrat Kaur’s turn to take on Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. She read out a detailed statement rejecting his charge that the NDA government had cancelled the food park project. Instead, she shifted the blame on the UPA government for not setting up the food park even though it was sanctioned in 2010.
This led to an angry face-off between the Congress members and the treasury benches as the main opposition party wondered how the food processing minister had been allowed to make the same statement twice.
Harsimrat Kaur had responded to Gandhi’s charge last week while Home Minister Rajnath Singh had also intervened on the same day to assure the Congress leader that the government would get back with a detailed reply. The Lok Sabha was even adjourned briefly when protesting Congress members questioned Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s decision to allow the statement by the minister.
With the budget session of Parliament set to close on Wednesday, this battle between the Modi government and the Congress will now shift outside, with Gandhi warning that his party will take its fight against the land bill to the streets.
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After deliberating over its response to Gandhi’s sustained campaign against the government in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular, the ruling alliance decided to hit back by pitting two of its vocal and aggressive women ministers against the Congress leader both inside and outside Parliament.
Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani was especially dispatched to Gandhi’s constituency of Amethi to pin him down and steal his thunder.
Revenge politics
Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur was fielded in the Lok Sabha to rubbish the Congress vice-president’s charge that the National Democratic Alliance government had cancelled plans for a food park in Amethi that was sanctioned by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. Raising this issue in the Lok Sabha last week, Rahul Gandhi had described this move as an act of revenge politics.
On his part, Gandhi also plunged into the arena by launching yet another scathing attack on Tuesday against the NDA government’s move to dilute the 2013 Land Acquisition Bill passed by the UPA government.
Participating in the debate on the bill in the Lok Sabha, the Congress leader reiterated the charge that the Modi government was a “suit-boot ki sarkar” and that it had amended the land acquisition bill to help its friends in the corporate sector.
BJP member Dilip Singh Bhuria took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, asking, “But what about jijaji”, referring to the Congress leader’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra, who has been in the eye of a storm following questionable land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan.
Government is unnerved
While the Congress was thrilled that Gandhi had managed to sufficiently unnerve the Modi government, the BJP’s decision to take on the Congress vice-president is a departure from its earlier stand that it should not dignify his outbursts with a response. “The BJP is obviously rattled by Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against the NDA government,” remarked a senior Congress office bearer.
There is no denying that the BJP was flummoxed by Gandhi’s sudden display of aggression after he returned last month from his 56-day unexplained sabbatical. Already hurt at losing the perception war over the land bill, the BJP was further taken aback at the change in the mood in the Congress ranks after the party vice-president decided to lead from the front. Congress MPs who had earlier appeared listless and directionless suddenly came to life. Rahul Gandhi’s active approach and Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s personalised attack against Modi energised party cadres as they realised that they were back in the fight.
The BJP felt it could not allow Rahul Gandhi to run away with the narrative, particularly since he had started grabbing headlines, sometimes even relegating Modi to the background.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley first took a swipe at Gandhi during the course of his reply to the finance bill when he countered Gandhi’s description of the NDA government as a “soojh boojh ki Sarkar” – a wise government. Subsequently, party spokespersons were fielded to poke fun at the Congress leader.
But the double offensive launched by the NDA government on Tuesday was clearly a well thought-out plan. It was no coincidence that Smriti Irani travelled to Amethi a week before Rahul Gandhi is slated to visit his constituency.
Irani was quick to deny that she was pre-empting the Congress leader and that she had come to listen to the woes of distressed farmers who had been ignored by their MP. However, the real purpose of her trip became evident when she launched a diatribe against Gandhi, stating that he was missing and had not come to his constituency since his return from his sabbatical.
Irani had lost to Gandhi in the last Lok Sabha election from Amethi though she had put up a spirited fight and managed to reduce his victory margin. It was, therefore, appropriate that she should have been picked to battle the Congress leader on his home turf. However, this is only her second trip to Amethi in the year since the Lok Sabha election.
Rebutting allegations
While the HRD minister was holding forth in Amethi, it was Harsimrat Kaur’s turn to take on Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. She read out a detailed statement rejecting his charge that the NDA government had cancelled the food park project. Instead, she shifted the blame on the UPA government for not setting up the food park even though it was sanctioned in 2010.
This led to an angry face-off between the Congress members and the treasury benches as the main opposition party wondered how the food processing minister had been allowed to make the same statement twice.
Harsimrat Kaur had responded to Gandhi’s charge last week while Home Minister Rajnath Singh had also intervened on the same day to assure the Congress leader that the government would get back with a detailed reply. The Lok Sabha was even adjourned briefly when protesting Congress members questioned Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s decision to allow the statement by the minister.
With the budget session of Parliament set to close on Wednesday, this battle between the Modi government and the Congress will now shift outside, with Gandhi warning that his party will take its fight against the land bill to the streets.