New Delhi, 1 Dec

The Congress on Monday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi the "biggest dramabaaz" and said his statement accusing the Opposition of indulging in drama in Parliament is "nothing but hypocrisy".

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary Jairam Ramesh were responding to Modi saying in his comments before the start of the Winter session that Parliament is not a place for drama but delivery.

Instead of addressing the real issue of people, Prime Minister Modi has once again made his “dramebazi delivery", Kharge said in a statement on X.

He said the reality is that the government has been continuously trampling on parliamentary decorum and system for the past 11 years, and the long list of such instances is well-known.

"The BJP should now end this drama of distraction and engage in debate in Parliament on the real issues facing the people," Kharge said in his post.

He added that the truth is that common people are struggling with unemployment, inflation, economic inequality, and the looting of the country's precious resources, while "those in power are playing the game of dramabazi in the arrogance of authority".

In the last Monsoon session, at least 12 Bills were passed in haste, some in less than 15 minutes and some without any discussion at all, Kharge said.

"The entire country has previously witnessed how you bulldozed anti-farmer black laws, GST, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and such bills through Parliament in a frantic rush," he said.

When the Manipur issue was raised, the PM remained silent until the Opposition brought a no-confidence motion, Kharge alleged.

"Due to SIR, BLOs are continuously losing their lives due to the workload in the process. The opposition wants to prioritize issues including 'vote theft' and we will continuously raise them in Parliament," the Congress leader added.

His party colleague Ramesh said the PM never attends Parliament, undermines it and doesn't engage with the opposition.

"Yet before every session he will stand outside the Parliament building and speak grandly to the nation asking for constructive cooperation from the Opposition to ensure the smooth functioning of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

"The PM's statement before Parliament begins is nothing but hypocrisy. The biggest dramabaaz of them all is talking of drama," Ramesh said in a post on X.

He said if the Parliament doesn't function smoothly, the fault is entirely that of the PM and his stubborn refusal to allow the Opposition to raise issues of urgent public importance.

"He wants to always have his way without giving the Opposition an opportunity to at least have its say," Ramesh said on X.

Hitting out at the opposition for stalling parliamentary proceedings earlier in the day, Modi said, "We need to work with a sense of responsibility. Parliament is not a place for drama, it is a place for delivery."

Referring to the drubbing of opposition parties in the Bihar polls, he said the opposition was perturbed by the electoral loss and unable to digest failure.

"For some time now, our Parliament is being used either as a warm up arena for elections or as an outlet for frustration after defeat," Modi said.

"Defeat should not be the ground to create disruption. Victory should not convert into arrogance either," the prime minister said.

The opposition too should fulfil its responsibility and come out of its depression after loss in elections, he said, adding that that must come out of ths frustration.

"They should change their strategy - I am ready to give them a few tips," the PM said.