Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha and Union Minister J.P. Nadda has accused the Congress and I.N.D.I.A. bloc of practising appeasement politics and treating the Muslim community primarily as a vote bank. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Nadda said the opposition parties have neither interest in debate nor respect for democratic values or the Constitution. Referring to an incident during the Zero Hour today, Mr Nadda said, when BJP member K. Laxman was speaking within his allotted time, the members of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc continuously disrupted him.

He said it reflects a lack of faith in democratic and parliamentary processes. During Zero hour, Mr Laxman had said that the provisions of OBC reservations are being misused in the name of religion in opposition-ruled states like Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. After that, the Opposition members staged a walkout from the House. Mr Nadda criticised the Opposition for avoiding debate and creating disruptions and called such behaviour inappropriate and condemnable. He said the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is always ready to hold discussions on any issue.