Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday attacked Congress Rajya Sabha MP KC Venugopal for his remarks over Bharat Ratna Chaudhary Charan Singh. Venugopal claimed that the Modi government was utilising the Bharat Ratna for meeting political ends.
He also said while the award is announced by the government only now, it was the Congress (I) faction that backed Chaudhary Charan Singh to become the Prime Minister 45 years back.
Sitharaman rebuked this, stating that it is the people who make Prime Ministers, not political parties.
“Who made Charan Singh PM was the observation by KC Venugopal ji. People make PMs. I hope the Congress party is not living in a myth that they make PM, they throw PM, they bring in PM, they reject PM. No, people have rejected the Congress,” Sitharaman said.
"Why? Indira Gandhi’s Congress withdrew support from him,” Sitharaman said. “Charan Singh ji said that he resigned because he wasn’t ready to be ‘blackmailed’ into withdrawing cases against Indira Gandhi. Those cases were done against her after the Emergency,” she added.
Sitharaman also quoted the late former Prime Minister to substantiate her point further. "They brought Chaudhary Charan Singh ji down in 1979. They're alrught with asking his grandson to go away but the fact is that they had to respect for Chaudhary Charan Singh Ji," she said.
Not only the Opposition's reaction to Chaudhary Charan Singh getting a Bharat Ratna, Sitharaman also criticised the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for mismanaging the economy. Responding to questions about the timing of the White Paper on the economy, she explained it was released now to provide a record for future generations.
Despite opposition claims that the White Paper was released to coincide with upcoming general elections, Sitharaman maintained that it was necessary to show the need for honest, transparent and accountable governance.
She also defended the Modi government's handling of the economy, stating that it had adopted a two-track approach to accelerate growth and that India is on track to become the third largest economy in the world.
Sitharaman also addressed allegations of rising unemployment and inflation, stating that the government has kept inflation under check and that the unemployment rate for graduates has declined.
Sitharaman, however, was not the only one to condemn the Congress and its senior leaders for their response to Chaudhary Charan Singh getting a Bharat Ratna. Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman attacked senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh.
Dhankhar's remarks came after Ramesh and other Congress leaders heckled Dhankhar for giving the floor to Jayant Chaudhary to speak on the government's decision to confer the Bharat Ratna to his grandfather and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Jairam Ramesh asked Chaudhary where he wanted to go, hinting that his party Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) was close to aligning with the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. After this, Dhankhar termed Ramesh as unfit to be in the House.
"I heard what Jairam Ramesh said to Jayant...you (Ramesh) are a person who can feast at the cremation ground," he said after the initial ruckus.
"It is a matter of fact that you (Ramesh) do not deserve to be part of this House for this misconduct," he said.
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