Champion of 'Mann Ki Baat' retreats into 'Maun Vrat' when there's scandal involving his ministers: Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi: After the complete washout of the two weeks of Monsoon session of Parliament, the Congress is all set to corner the Narendra Modi government on its demand for resignations of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who are embroiled in various controversies.

Ahead of the all-party meeting called by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday told party members to stick to their demand and "not to be perturbed if left alone in Parliament".

In a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sonia said, "The 'Mann Ki Baat' man appears to retreat into a 'Maun Vrat' whenever there is a scandal involving his colleagues. The Prime Minister has been very free with his promises yet he seems totally incapable of delivering on them - for its silence on acts of monumental corruption, its willful violations of law and gross misdemeanors on part of its leading lights.

"The Prime Minister has turned out to be a master re-packager, a skillful salesman, a sharp headline grabber and a clever news manager," said Sonia at Congress Parliament Party meet.

With no signs of the Congress relenting on its demand, in a direct attack on the Narendra Modi government, Sonia said, "Parliamentary majority does not give anyone a license to escape accountability. There is a mountain of incontrovertible evidence in public domain for PM to require resignations of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan."

Reminding the BJP of its practice to stall the House when it was in Opposition, Sonia said, "Has BJP forgotten it's author of “resign-now-debate-later” Parliament practice which it has used on at least five different occasions since 1993? We're not being aggressive just to match BJP's aggression of past. We are forced to take our position because of government's brazen attitude."

The Congress President raised the Land Bill issue and hit out at the government saying, "Government's anti-farmer policies have crippled rural India. Farmers are against the amendments to the 2013 Land Acquisition Law. To make matters worse, Agriculture Minister rubs salt into their wounds by giving an outrageous answer to a question on farmer suicides."

The fight against the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill has been spearheaded by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and the party has upped the ante against it.