Don’t shy away from debates: Gangwar to Cong

The Union Minister asks Sonia Gandhi to first spell out her opinion on Vadra before making comments on other issues

‘I feel that she (Gandhi) should first worry about her son-in-law. She should first express her opinion on him and then talk about other matters. She should clarify what opinion she has about her son-in-law’

Hyderabad: Unleashing a scathing attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her remarks on his Cabinet colleague Sushma Swaraj, Union Minister of State for Textiles and BJP senior leader Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Saturday said she should make public her opinion on her son-in-law Robert Vadra before making comments on other issues.

Gandhi dubbing the External Affairs Minister as an ‘expert in theatrics’ after Swaraj's emotional defence in Lok Sabha this week on the Lalit Modi issue has evoked sharp reaction from the BJP. Gangwar, the Lok Sabha MP from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, said he knew Swaraj for a long time and was well aware of her working style.

“Main aisa manta hoon ki, woh (Gandhi) apne damaad (Robert Vadra) ki chinta kare, pahale uske bare me ray de, aur uske baad me aur kisi mamle par baat kare. Woh apne damaad ke bare me kya ray rakathi hain, Soniaji ko iska ujagar karna chahiye (I feel that she (Gandhi) should first worry about her son-in-law.

She should first express her opinion on him and then talk about other matters. She should clarify what opinion she has about her son-in-law),” he said while speaking on the sidelines of the two-day 17th Garment Fair organised by Garments Manufacturer and Wholesalers Association here.

On continued disruptions by the Opposition in Parliament, Gangwar alleged that the Congress, whose 25 Lok Sabha MPs had been suspended for five days for disrupting the proceedings, is shying away from debate in the House. “Today, the Congress does not have any working style. If there is a discussion/debate on any matter in Parliament, then the Congress will not have any answer.

We would like to tell the Congress friends that they should not keep themselves away from debates in Parliament.” The Minister said, “I suggest that the Congress should participate in debates. I urge them to join in debates as then only the people of the country will come to know about their stand on important issues.”

Noting that even small countries were catching up with India in the textile sector, Gangwar said efforts were on to give a right identity and direction to this industry to take it to greater heights. “We know that India should have topped the list in textile sector, but small countries are marching ahead.

We are aware of this and are making efforts to give a right identity and direction to the Indian textile industry,” Gangwar said and alleged that in the last ten years, the identity of the sector was associated with ‘irregularities’ and noted that the CBI had filed a case against the then Union Textile Minister and a probe was on.

“But now the process of transformation is taking place in the Indian textile sector. Only yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Handloom Day in Chennai. In the coming days, our intention is to ensure that the (textile) sector progresses in the right direction,” he said.

The Ministry of Textiles was now making efforts to revive the units under it (that are closed) in Mumbai and other places in the country, he said, adding the Centre had recently set up textile units in all States across north-eastern region. Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya was also present on the occasion.