New Delhi: Parliament is being disrupted to serve the interest of Congress, former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters, Prasad said disrupting Parliament was the agenda of the Congress.
“Disrupting Parliament is the agenda of Congress. They do not want any other party to move ahead of them,” Prasad said.
He said the government was ready for debate on all issues, but Congress is not allowing the Houses to function.
There was no “prima facie evidence” that snooping actually took place, he added.
“Has any responsible quarter given any prima facie evidence these phone numbers have been tapped?” Prasad questioned.
He added that it was a conspiracy by people with an “anti-Modi agenda”.
As parallels are being drawn between disruptions witnessed by Parliament in the Winter session of 2010, when BJP was in Opposition and the present protests, Prasad also said the two could not be compared.
Protests led by BJP had rocked both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the Winter Session of 2010 after a CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation said there could be a possible loss of Rs1.76 lakh crore in the sale of 2G spectrum.
Parliament recorded its worst performance in close to two decades. The Lower House and the Upper House could utilise only 6 percent and 2 percent of their allotted time.
“Congress leaders are saying we are doing what you did then… You denied the 2G scam, You gave the zero loss theory,” he said.
The ongoing Monsoon session has been marred by protests over Pegasus snooping controversy, farm laws, price rise and other issues. Opposition members are protesting demanding a debate and a reply by Home Minister Amit Shah on the Pegasus controversy.
As the stalemate in both Houses continues, the government has blamed the Opposition for it, while the Opposition has stressed that the situation will be resolved if the government holds a debate.