Arun Jaitley: "Why has Congress made an issue of this non-issue? The reason is clear - a section of the party, unable to lead, is facing a palace coup”

IANS/New Delhi

Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani yesterday advised Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to ask his MPs to restrain themselves in the Lok Sabha after he led a charge in the lower house against the government.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there was a coup within the Congress, which was later denied by party president Sonia Gandhi.

Rahul met Advani after he and Congress MPs disrupted the Lok Sabha demanding a debate on communal violence, sources said.

The BJP veteran, according to the sources, was upset due to the disruptions in the lower house, and wanted the floor managers of the ruling National Democratic Alliance to resolve the issue.

The Congress vice president earlier led party members to the speaker’s podium to protest against the government’s refusal to agree to an immediate discussion on the increasing incidence of communal clashes in the country.

The Lok Sabha witnessed continuous protests from opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal over their demand for a discussion on the issue.

Jaitley said they were making an issue out of nothing.

“Why has Congress made an issue of this non-issue? The reason is clear - a section of the party, unable to lead, is facing a palace coup,” he said.

Jaitley alleged there was a coup within the party.

“If you want to show yourself as doing something, it will be better if you lead your own party, rather than develop a contrived aggression against the functioning of the house itself, which otherwise has been functioning well,” Jaitley said.

“Day after day, established leaders of the party (Congress) are speaking out. It is an internal compulsion within the party. For that, you need not drag the house of the presiding officer into the debate,” he said.

Sonia, however, rejected Jaitley’s allegations.

“Let them say whatever they want to say,” she said when asked about Jaitley’s comments.

Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the BJP said: “Rahul Gandhi calling the speaker ‘partial’ is unfortunate and avoidable. It is pure frustration and nothing else.”

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the government was ready for any debate.

“There is peace in the country, let peace prevail in parliament. We are ready for any debate,” Naidu said.

Former Congress minister M Veerapa Moily said it was the first time that Rahul had gone near the speaker’s podium to protest.

“This reflected anguish of Rahul Gandhi against ruling party’s adamant attitude,” Moily said.

Talking to journalists after later, Rahul accused the speaker of not allowing the opposition to speak.

“We are asking for a discussion but there is a mentality in the government that discussion is not acceptable,” he said.

However, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she was following the rules of the house and was not ignoring the opposition as was alleged by Rahul.

“There is a procedure laid down to run the house and I am following the rules... it is my attempt to give equal opportunities to members of all the parties in the house,” Mahajan said outside parliament.

Mahajan said the Question Hour was important for the government, the opposition as well as the people of the country as it is an opportunity to hold the ministers accountable for their work.