New Delhi: The Delhi High Court's decision denying relief to Congress bigwigs including party President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi from personal appearance in the “National Herald case” has taken an ugly turn, with leaders of the Congress party now accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of using the courts to run a "vendetta" against the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Political analysts now fear that the aggression displayed by the Congress party in parliament today may spell disaster for the passage of the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill.
The passage of this crucial piece of legislation has been stuck with a defiant opposition holding the functioning of parliament to ransom.
The government wants to introduce the GST to bolster its reforms agenda. The nationwide tax aims to replace a long list of state levies and consequently boost investor sentiment. Despite a majority in the Lower house, the government needs to garner support of opposition parties to get the bill passed in the Upper house.
Modi's meeting with Sonia Gandhi last month had raised hopes of a compromise. However, the reactions of Congress members following the apex court's ruling in the National Herald case asking Rahul and Sonia to personally appear before a trial court for proceedings does not bode well for parliamentary business; this legislation in particular.
Furious Congress members stormed both houses of parliament shouting slogans to protest the case and alleging a "political vendetta" by Modi. "I am not scared of anyone," Sonia Gandhi told journalists in parliament. Reactions by other senior Congress leaders too indicate that the disruption was the "start" of a protest about the court case.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a Congress spokesman and the lawyer representing the Gandhis, said they were willing to appear at court, but sought more time. He said the case was an example of a "political vendetta at its worst". "The ruling party in power is using proxy litigation to attack senior Congress persons out of political malice," Singhvi said outside a New Delhi court that deferred the hearing to December 19.
The government, on its part, has denied the court's actions as a part of any vendetta. Rejecting the Congress's charge, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul should face the court. “Nobody in this country has immunity from law. They can challenge the orders in a higher court or face proceedings," he said.
