(Photo: ANI)
NEW DELHI: A political rift erupted within the INDIA bloc on Tuesday after Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas questioned leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi’s absence from Parliament during the Winter Session and criticised Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s participation post-session in “chai pe charcha” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Speaking to ANI, Brittas took a sharp dig at Priyanka for attending a tea meeting hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla after the conclusion of the Winter Session, saying the move “sent a wrong message” to the public, coming just hours after the BJP “bulldozed” the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). “This has been a matter of concern for people like us… It was not a good scene for us to see Priyanka Gandhi and others sitting at the tea party along with the Prime Minister,” he said.”We would have expected better wisdom to guide them. I can also tell you that for comparatively insignificant issues, we stayed away from such tea parties,” he told ANI. Referring to past parliamentary protests, he said the Opposition had deliberately avoided similar meetings earlier. “Last monsoon session, the opposition stayed away from such tea parties, because the government was not prepared for a discussion on SIR,” he said, adding that, “Earlier, when the Waqf Bill was bulldozed, we stayed away.” Calling the latest episode particularly damaging, Brittas said, “Compared to all those issues, this was a humongous issue… Such a spectacle of Priyanka Gandhi having a cup of tea with the Prime Minister. Just a few hours after the bulldozing of Mahatma Gandhi, it was not only a sad scene, it has sent a wrong message to the people of the country.” “I don’t subscribe to such bonhomie which is detrimental to the unity of the opposition and the betterment of the poor people of this country,” he added.Brittas also raised concerns over Rahul Gandhi’s absence from Parliament during the Winter Session. “Why travel abroad when the Parliament session is on? We had already decided that Rahul Gandhi, as part of the opposition, should be present when the three anti-people bills were piloted in Parliament. However, it is for him and his political party to decide,” he told IANS.Rahul Gandhi was on a five-day visit to Germany, where he held meetings with former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Environment Minister Carsten Schneider, among others, to discuss issues of mutual interest.
