New Delhi : Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu Monday rubbished Congress allegations that the NDA government has made repeated U-turns in six months since it assumed power, and said the opposition party is “confused” and “out of focus”.
Hours after the Congress released a booklet listing 25 U-turns by the central government, Naidu, speaking to reporters outside parliament, said the opposition party should not lose patience and introspect about its defeat in the Lok Sabha election and in assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra.
“Congress is out of focus, confused, panicked, worried about its relevance. Our government will deliver on all fronts,” Naidu said.
Naidu said he has quickly gone through the allegations and there was “nothing substantial”.
He said the booklet has raised questions on the basis of some speeches.
“Give us some time. Have some patience,” the parliamentary affairs minister said.
He said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had been overwhelmingly rejected by people in the Lok Sabha elections and it has been subsequently defeated in the assembly polls too.
“They (Congress leaders) should ponder what went wrong. They should introspect,” Naidu said.
Decades of Congress rule left the country in a bad shape and expecting miracles in six months would be unjust, Naidu said.
“Leadership has come back, the governance has come back, confidence has come back,” the parliamentary affairs minister said.
Naidu said the Narendra Modi government will take forward some initiatives of the UPA government such as Aadhaar.
The minister said the Congress had given the slogan “garibi hatao” (remove poverty) in early ’70s. “Did it increase or decrease poverty,” he asked.
Naidu said the government has been working on the Swaminathan panel recommendations concerning remunerative prices to farmers.
“I want a constructive opposition. It has a space. We are ready to accommodate it,” he said.