To take on 'obstructionist' Congress, Arun Jaitley seeks support of corporates

MUMBAI: After a washed out monsoon session, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday sought to enlist support of corporate houses against the Congress blockade, stating that only when public opinion developed "revulsion" against such politics would obstructionism be dropped as a political strategy.

Addressing the who's who of the business world, including Kumar Mangalam Birla, Anand Mahindra, Anil Ambani, Anil Agarwal, Prashant Ruia and Sajjan Jindal at the launch of SBI's Economic Conclave, Jaitley said the recently concluded Parliament session was a disappointment but had been an education for NDA on how obstruction is used as a political strategy.

Jaitley attributed the obstructionist politics to the leadership of Congress. "In the recent politics of obstructionism, it is the loss of power where the loser feels that they have the divine right to rule and when the right is denied to them, this converts itself into a right to obstruct," Jaitley said.

Responding to a question on what the businessmen could do, he said, "It is not necessary that you take to the streets, but campaigns today with the kind of facilities available... the media is an important instrument, social media is a powerful instrument. Even meeting and questioning those who you think must change is also an important instrument.That is how civilized debate and opinion takes place."

Jaitley also called for a debate on getting key legislation passed despite resistance from the Rajya Sabha, citing the Salisbury Doctrine in the UK which suggested that the House of Lords would not oppose the second or third reading of a government legislation.