CPI-M slams Congress for attending tea party with PM Modi after contentious Parliamentary sessions
NEW DELHI: Slamming Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for attending a tea party hosted by the BJP government after the conclusion of the Winter Session of Parliament, INDIA bloc ally CPI(M) on Monday said the move sent a wrong message at a time when the Centre had bulldozed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Speaking to reporters in the national capital, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said the optics of Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi sharing tea with Prime Minister Narendra Modi undermined the Oppositions collective stand against the governments handling of key legislations and parliamentary procedures during the session. At a time when the Opposition was protesting the manner in which crucial Bills, including those impacting MGNREGA, were pushed through Parliament, such a meeting sends a wrong signal to the public, Brittas said, adding that the interaction weakened the Oppositions narrative of resistance. During the interaction, Priyanka Gandhi spoke to PM Modi about his foreign visits but made no mention of rehabilitation funds for Wayanad. Priyanka Gandhi is not a parliamentary party leader. In what capacity did she attend the meeting? She also misled other party leaders, he charged. The tea party is a customary meeting hosted by the Speaker with leaders of different parties after the end of every session on a note of cordiality and goodwill. The Opposition had stayed away from the meeting since the 2024 Monsoon Session. Noting that the Opposition parties had stayed away from tea parties hosted by presiding officers since 2024, Brittas asked what had changed now. How could Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka attend the meeting after what we describe the G RAM G bill as the second assassination of Mahatma Gandhi? Do they want to convey that they are with the government? he asked. Pointing to the absence of several senior Opposition leaders, Brittas said the decision was not unanimously accepted within the INDIA bloc. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and senior DMK leaders such as T R Baalu and Kanimozhi, among others, stayed away from the event, signalling discomfort in attending the tea meeting immediately after a contentious session, he said. The CPI(M) leader further said that INDIA bloc partners were neither consulted nor informed in advance about the Congress leaderships participation. There was no discussion within the INDIA bloc. The overall mood in the Opposition was clearly against attending such a meeting, he said.
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