CPI-M blames government for parliament logjam

New Delhi: The CPI-M on Thursday blamed the government for the near paralysis of parliament in the monsoon session, and said it was a ploy to stall the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the land acquisition bills.

"They wanted to delay the land acquisition bill before the Bihar elections, and the AIADMK is opposed to the GST bill. Hence, in order to get around these issues, they stalled parliament," CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury told a press conference here.

"It is a political ploy," he said.

Questioned on the demand for the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, he said the NDA could have ensured that the minister concerned did not attend office for the duration of parliament session.

"This had been done in the past when Defence Minister George Fernandes was accused in the coffin scam. He did not attend office during parliament session," Yechury said.

"Why couldn't the same formula be applied here also?

"This entire thing is part of BJP propaganda and part of their overall plan," he added.

Yechury said the functioning of the Narendra Modi government shows arrogance and "tyranny of numbers".