Cong using Parliament to 'silence' judiciary: Govt

New Delhi, Dec 9: Government today accused Congress of using Parliament to "intimidate and silence" the judiciary after Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were not given relief by a court in the National Herald case and alleged that the opposition party was practising "mobocracy".

With Congress continuing to disrupt Parliament accusing the government of resorting to "political vendetta" targeting its leaders, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu hit back, saying it was posing a "danger to democracy" by making Parliament "dysfunctional".

Naidu rejected Rahul's contention that the case was "100 per cent vendetta coming out of the PMO" and wondered if the Congress vice president was attacking former prime minister Manmohan Singh because the case was filed when the UPA was in power.

He told a press conference that Subramanian Swamy, a BJP leader who is the complainant in the case, was not in the saffron party when he had lodged it.

Democracy is indeed in danger and there is indeed vendetta, he said wryly, accusing Congress of taking "revenge" on people for its Lok Sabha poll defeat by trying to stall development by blocking Parliament.

Naidu said, "Congress is thinking that it is hurting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But it is wrong because it is hurting India." For Congress to accuse the government of practising tyranny is like a man crying at becoming an orphan after killing his parents, he said.

"Making Parliament, the highest forum of democracy, dysfunctional is definitely a danger to democracy. Congress seems to believe in mobocracy.

Congress is fountain head of mobocracy. "How is Parliament involved if some people (Gandhis) have been summoned by a court? Is this the job of Parliament? You want to silence the judiciary. You want to intimidate the judiciary.

You are telling judiciary how dare you summon us," he said. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Naidu's deputy, dared Rahul to give proof in Parliament on his allegations against the PMO. "We will ask Rahul Gandhi, if he has courage enough, if he has honesty enough, if he has standing as a leader of his political party, he should come to Parliament and give proof...," he said.

Naidu said the issues being raised by Congress in Parliament where it involved BJP chief ministers or Union Minister V K Singh were "excuses" to disrupt it.

PTI