New Delhi: Wishing the Narendra Modi government all the best, Congress on Wednesday said that it would play the role of a constructive opposition and hold the new dispensation accountable.
Contending that "good governance must have continuity", the party hoped that the several path breaking schemes and initiatives taken by the UPA-I and II as also several right based schemes "will be neither closed or in any manner significantly curtailed."
At the outset at a press conference, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said that the party wishes the new government and the new Prime Minister-designate all the best.
"We and the nation are there and will be there each day of our opposition years to seek accountability constructively and to seek a report card constructively," he said. He expressed happiness that Modi, in his address on Tuesday, has recognized that "some or more than some good deeds, good policies, good schemes, good decisions, good initiatives had been taken by the previous government or by previous governments."
Referring to the address, Singhvi said, "We believe that a genuine real good is done if words and promises are translated into action. Then it is the real good of India that we celebrate and that is why we place on record our good wishes."
"We, of course, hope and must insist that such good words must be followed by solid good deeds by measurable objective standards....", he said. Asked what role Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi will play as far as the post of Leader of Opposition or Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha is concerned, Singhvi said when any information is available that will be shared with the media. "But today the Congress party is ready to play a constructive role of the opposition," he added.
Singhvi also felt that there is no statutory problem before the Speaker in giving the Leader of Opposition to post to Congress as it is the second single largest party. "There is a difference between statutory requirements for making a person eligible for availing of perks of Leader of Opposition for which certain statutory prerequisites may be required but there is absolutely no legal bar for the discretion of the Speaker to recognize a group leader or a party leader as functional Opposition leader," Singhvi said.
He also said while Congress is the second single largest party, the UPA is the second single largest pre-poll alliance and hence the Leader of Opposition should not be a problem.
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