New Delhi: After three years of arrogant attitude towards Lokpal, Congress has decided to climb down and adopt a conciliatory approach, BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday said, attributing Rahul Gandhi's "changed" body language to the electoral rap on the knuckles.
Noting that democracy is a great leveller, he said, "Yesterday (Sarurday), both the language, approach and the body language were different. After electoral rap on the knuckles, the mighty had fallen" and advised Aam Aadmi Party, which he accused of being disrespectful to leaders of other parties, to take a cue from Congress and shed its "arrogance" after its stunning debut in Delhi election.
Jaitley was referring to Rahul Gandhi's press conference on Saturday where he had asked political parties to set aside their differences to ensure passage of Lokpal Bill in Parliament. Gandhi had dismissed suggestions that Congress' drubbing in the polls were forcing the government's hand.
"The 'game changer' had been abandoned. They were now looking for a conciliatory approach," Jaitley said while taking a dig at the Congress Vice President.
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said the body language of Gandhi and others accompanying him was a "changed one" and was "in sharp contrast to the stand taken by them in the past three years" when they prevented Anna Hazare from sitting on a fast in support of Lokpal Bill and did not accept any suggestions put forth by his team despite negotiations.
Commenting on the AAP, he said, "They are disrespectful to leaders of other parties. Their letters to Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Shri Rajnath Singh are worded impolitely. Today, even their mentor Anna is not being spared," he said.
"For the political class it should be a learning experience. After three years of arrogant attitude towards Lokpal, the Congress has decided to climb down. One hopes that the AAP party learns from this."
Jaitley charged the ruling party of introducing an "unacceptable" Bill in the Lok Sabha which was described as a 'game changer' and was "unilaterally" passed in Lok Sabha in the face of resistance by a combined Opposition.
He said when it was sought to be amended in the Rajya Sabha, the House was adjourned at midnight and later when the Select Committee made recommendations, the same were placed before the parliament after almost a year. "They insisted that the CBI would be under the government and not under the Lokpal," he said.
Jaitley noted that democracy votes politicians into power and also votes them out of power and that history judges them by the number of supporters that are left when they are down. "A fundamental change in democratic functioning is that power no longer vests in one institution. There is a spread of political power. Government, opposition, judiciary, media, bureaucracy, civil society, public opinion are all repositories of power. Any one institution assuming all powers to itself is bound to be misled.
"Arrogance can never be strength. It is a mask for lack of confidence. Arrogant people are not learners. Arrogance should never be confused with confidence. Arrogance leads to over- belief in yourself. Saturday's Press Conference only reaffirms this," he said.
Noting that arrogance can be the first sign of downfall, he said what goes up in politics also comes down and thus humility needs to be inculcated in politics. "The AAP party must learn from this. Today they challenge political opponents. They are disrespectful to leaders of other parties. Their letters to Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Shri Rajnath Singh are worded impolitely. Today, even their mentor Anna is not being spared," he said.
The BJP leader said it should also be a lesson for the new emerging AAP, which has done remarkably well in the Delhi assembly elections. "Its celebratory mood has converted itself into one of arrogance," he noted, adding that BJP despite being the single largest party got into the work mode on the next day itself. "Maintaining dignity, grace and humility after victory is essential," he said.
Comments
0 comment