Sushma tears into Sonia

Finance Bill passed amid Oppn walk-out

• A Charges her with provoking colleagues to disrupt the House when she was speaking
• Says Sonia doesn't believe in Indian traditions
• Not to cooperate with govt to bring in order in House
• That means virtual washout of rest of the session

Anita Saluja

New Delhi: Reminiscent of the days when BJP leader Sushma Swaraj had vowed not to let Congress president Sonia Gandhi to become the Prime Minister on grounds of her foreign origins, she has once again singled out the UPA Chairperson. She accused Sonia Gandhi of demeaning the democratic institutions of the country. Giving a political twist to the impasse in parliament, Sushma targeted Sonia Gandhi for provoking her colleagues on treasury benches to disrupt the House and not allow her to speak.

Lashing out at Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj said that the Congress president "does not believe in the Indian tradition and was bent upon degrading the Constitutional bodies." She said that it was under the UPA Chairperson that the democratic institutions like the JPC and the PAC were being manipulated, the CBI was being dictated and the Supreme Court was being misled. "She (Sonia Gandhi) does not allow the Opposition to speak in parliament," remarked the leader of Opposition.

According to Sushma Swaraj, it was unanimously decided at the all-party meeting convened by Speaker Meira Kumar that she would be allowed to speak before the Finance Bill was taken up. She said that hardly had she spoken for five minutes in the Lok Sabha, when Sonia Gandhi provoked the Congress MPs to disrupt the proceedings of the House, thus preventing her from completing her speech. To her surprise, Speaker Meira Kumar also did not allow her to continue.

"I feel let down," admitted Sushma Swaraj, when asked on the changing relations between her and Sonia Gandhi. Earlier, the two had become friendly and were even exchanging pleasantries.

Addressing the media, Sushma Swaraj stated that the countdown for the UPA government had begun. The BJP, she declared, would not henceforth attend any meetings convened by the Presiding Officers of both the Houses and would not hold any discussion with the UPA Government on ending the impasse in parliament.

In the Lok Sabha, too, she declared that there was "no question on cooperating with the government," making it clear that the rest of the Budget Session would be a washout. The entire Opposition, including the Left parties, walked out of the Lok Sabha, allowing the government to pass the Finance Bill, Railway Budget, Demands for Grants and Appropriations Bill.

Before the walkout by her party, Sushma Swaraj, in her speech, termed the UPA government as the most "corrupt government" since Independence. She said that in every session, a new scam broke out, which was worse than the previous one. The CWG scam was worth Rs 70,000 crore, the 2G scam accounted for the loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the State exchequer and in the latest coalgate scam, the sum involved was to the tune of Rs 1.86 lakh crore.