Climbdown by Congress, Rahul Gandhi says will let Parliament funtion if questions are answered

New Delhi: With dwindling support from other parties over the protest against the Narendra Modi government in Parliament, the Congress in an apparent climbdown said that they will let the House function if their questions are answered.

Rahul said, "We want a discussion in the House. We want our questions to be addressed. The Prime Minister must clear his stand on Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The financial transactions between Lalit Modi and Sushma's family must be made public."

Rahul added, "There are financial transfers that have taken place between Lalit Modi and Sushma Swaraj’s family. Sushma Swaraj should explain how much money of Lalit Modi has been credited in her and her family's account? In Madhya Pradesh there are murders happening and our Prime Minister does not comment on them? The PM praises Madhya Pradesh CM and ignores the fact that future of thousands of students have been destroyed by him. The PM ignores that there is a business relationship between a criminal and the Rajasthan Chief Minister."

Rahul, however, continued to voice his party's demand for the resignations of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in controversy involving former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi and of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the high-profile Vyapam scam.

Rahul's remarks came after Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav pulled up the Opposition for not letting the House function. "The government must reach out to all opposition parties to end logjam in Parliament. It is the government's responsibility to end disruptions in Parliament. We want the House to function, won't support Congress protest," said Mulayam.

But other parties were not supporting Congress's protest and only backed it when Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended 25 MPs for five days for disrupting the House.

The Modi government has condemned the Congress's behaviour. "Unfortunate that Congress behaving the way it is. They are destroying Parliament democracy. They are indulging in hit and run. They just make allegations and run away when people are answering and clarifying things," said Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

With no work being transacted in the first three weeks of the Monsoon session, it is to be seen whether the House will function in the last week.