NEW DELHI: Anxious to correct the perception that it was holding up Parliament because of legal troubles of its leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul in the National Herald case , Congress on Friday suddenly claimed that disruptions in Rajya Sabha were a protest against BJP’s inaction in Vyapam and Lalitgate scams, as well as its refusal to punish Union minister V K Singh for allegedly making anti-Dalit remarks.

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“We are protesting in Parliament over inaction against three BJP CMs who face corruption allegations, not on National Herald case,” Azad told reporters in what marked a major change of tack by the principal opposition which reacted to court summons to Sonia and Rahul in the National Herald case by accusing the government of vendetta and stalling Parliament.

Former finance minister P Chidambaram too said the protests were not related to the Herald issue.

The shift of gears, at least so far as the professed justification for blocking Parliament is concerned, was prompted by growing recognition within the party that disrupting Parliament over summons to Sonia and Rahul may not have played well with the general public.

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Senior party leaders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged that they had not been able to rebut BJP’s pitch that in stalling Rajya Sabha, Congress had put the personal interests of its top two leaders over the need to quickly clear legislations, and that its protests against alleged witch hunt were meant to bully the judiciary into dropping the proceedings.

That the revival of demand for action against foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje in connection with ‘Lalitgate’ was an afterthought was indicated by the fact that the party did not seem interested in the issue when the winter session got underway.

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However, while the party seemed keen to switch the justification, it was not ready to end its stalling tactics yet. Congress sources said the party will take a call on the issue when its leaders huddle on Sunday for a review, indicating that the change of reasoning might not necessarily result in restoration of normalcy in Parliament on Monday.

This was indicated also by Sonia herself who brushed aside PM Narendra Modi’s charge that Congress had rendered Parliament hostage to its “whims and fancies”, and was thwarting pro-poor measures like the move to hike bonus for low-wage workers. Asked for her reaction, the Congress chief testily said, “Let him say what he wants.”

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Party strategists clarified the fresh emphasis on attributing the protests to “different issues” was to regain control of the battle of wits with the government. There is a sense of unease within that popular perception about the party using Parliament to vent against the court summons in Herald case has not gone down well with people.

It led to immediate rethink to diversify the bouquet of reasons for blocking Parliament. While the “objectionable” comments of BJP MP Virendra Singh have come in handy in Lok Sabha in the last two days, the demand for resignation V K Singh over his “dog” remark has also helped. It has now accused the government of double-standards on graft, renewing the demand for sacking Swaraj and the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh chief ministers.

Congress may maintain its tough attitude on the GST bill. Sources said the government has responded positively to only the demand for dropping of 1% additional tax on inter-state sales and is not willing to set up a GST standing committee and capping the tax at 18% and putting it in the Constitution amendment.

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The Centre’s unwillingness provides Congress with an alibi to claim that it stands for GST, without supporting it in Parliament.

According to Congress, the party’s ability to “block” the government is a strong bargaining chip with BJP over its “vendetta” policy.

Read this story in Telegu: అదొక్కటే కారణం కాదు: కాంగ్రెస్