Priyanka hits back after PM’s ‘drama’ swipe; Rahul stays silent on Modi’s attack

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, chose not to react on Monday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sharp attack on the Congress and other Opposition parties ahead of the Winter Session. But his sister and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi stepped in with a pointed response.

Asked about the Prime Minister’s remarks accusing the Opposition of disrupting Parliament, Priyanka Gandhi said issues like the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and rising air pollution directly affect people. “Let us discuss them. What is the Parliament for? It’s not drama. Speaking about and raising issues is not drama. Drama is not allowing democratic discussions about issues that matter to the public,” she said.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had taken swipes at the Opposition, saying he hoped the Houses would not witness a “meltdown” after the Opposition bloc’s defeat in the Bihar election. “There are a lot of places to do drama. Those who want to do it should do it. There should be no drama here; there should be delivery,” he said.

He added that “negativity” should be kept in check and urged political parties to focus on nation-building. In a dig at the Congress and its allies, he said that in some states, anti-incumbency is so strong that parties are unable to face the public. “And that is why all the anger comes to the Parliament. Some parties have started a new tradition of using the Parliament,” he said, adding that such tactics were not working.