Blame Sonia if monsoon session is washed out: BJP

Nirmala Sitharaman says Congress, which 'does not even have the stature of the principal opposition party', was failing the people of India

Slamming a "confused and afraid" Congress for disrupting the ongoing monsoon session of parliament, the BJP on Sunday said party president Sonia Gandhi will have to take the blame if the session was washed out.

Arguing that the government was willing to hold a debate on issues agitating the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nirmala Sitharaman said the opposition party, which "does not even have the stature of the principal opposition party", was "failing the people of India".

"The position of the Congress keeps changing. They are confused and want every debate outside parliament. The confusion created by the Congress is prevailing and people of India (are) being denied a meaningful parliament session," she said.

The statement came ahead of an all-party meeting scheduled for Monday. "When offered a debate, they run away... come up with new demands," she said.

Sitharaman, minister of state for commerce and industry, said the Congress was scared of the good performance during the previous parliament session (Budget session) when productivity of both houses was recorded above 100 percent.

"In the last session, the productivity was 123 percent in the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha also had more than 100 percent productivity. The Congress is afraid of this... they don't want success of the government in parliament," Sitharaman said.

Taking on Sonia Gandhi, the BJP leader said Congress parliamentarians were violating the "basic courtesies of the house with great impunity" right under the nose of the Congress president.

"If this session gets washed out, Sonia Gandhi will have to take the blame," she said.

The BJP leader further said that if the opposition wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on some issue, they must begin a debate, and the prime minister may intervene.

"There have been five instances in the last one year when the prime minister (Modi) has spoken on important issues. He has intervened as and when critical debates have taken place," she said.

The monsoon session of parliament, that began on July 21, has so far not been able to transact any major business due to repeated adjournments. It is scheduled to last till August 13.

Some opposition parties, led by the Congress, have been creating ruckus over alleged help extended to former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, and on the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh in which over 40 people have died under mysterious circumstances and the Supreme Court has handed over the probe to the CBI.

The Congress party is demanding the resignations of Swaraj, Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan before allowing parliament to function smoothly.