‘So-called Achhe Din’: Congress' Jairam Ramesh takes a dig at Centre as Boris Johnson quits as UK MP
Johnson, who served as the PM between 2019 and 2022, stepped down after a parliamentary committee told him that he will be sanctioned for misleading the House over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street.
- Jun 10, 2023,
- Updated Jun 10, 2023 12:20 PM IST
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday launched a veiled dig at the ruling government after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit as an MP.
Johnson, who served as the PM between 2019 and 2022, stepped down after a parliamentary committee told him that he will be sanctioned for misleading the House over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street during his premiership.
Comparing the situations in the British and Indian Parliament, Ramesh said: “Imagine if we were a truly functional Parliamentary democracy, like we used to be before the so-called Achhe Din was unleashed on us.”
The ‘Acche Din’ slogan was coined before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and has been the punchline of PM Narendra Modi.
“A Parliamentary Committee in the UK investigated and concluded that PM Boris Johnson lied to Parliament. He has now resigned as MP and quit politics, he says for now. There are some other PMs who provide the Parliament and the nation with a daily dose of TruthFree sweeteners. Imagine if they were to be held accountable for their lies, distortions, fabrications and silences on burning national issues. Imagine if we were a truly functional Parliamentary democracy, like we used to be before the so-called Achhe Din was unleashed on us,” Ramesh tweeted.
Boris Johnson and parliamentary inquiry
Johnson, 58, was being probed by a parliamentary inquiry looking into “partygate,” a series of rule-breaking government parties during the Covid-19 pandemic, whether he misled the House of Commons about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street.
On Friday, Johnson received a confidential letter from the MP-led privileges Committee over the crucial matter, following which he quit.
He departed with a ferocious tirade at his political opponents — and at his successor, Rishi Sunak.
He called the committee investigating him — which has members from both government and opposition parties — a “kangaroo court.”
“Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts,” Johnson said.
The resignation will trigger a special election to replace Johnson as a lawmaker for a suburban London seat in the House of Commons.
Johnson, who has been surrounded by a series of scandals and comebacks, led the Conservatives to a landslide victory in 2019 but was forced out by his own party less than three years later.
He had been awaiting the outcome of an investigation by a House of Commons standards committee over misleading statements he made to Parliament.
Police eventually issued 126 fines over the late-night soirees, boozy parties, and “wine time Fridays,” including one to Johnson, and the scandal helped hasten the end of his premiership.
Johnson has acknowledged misleading Parliament when he assured lawmakers that no rules had been broken, but he said he didn’t do so deliberately.
He told the committee he “honestly believed” the five events he attended, including a send-off for a staffer and his own surprise birthday party, were “lawful work gatherings” intended to boost morale among overworked staff members coping with a deadly pandemic.
(With agency inputs)
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday launched a veiled dig at the ruling government after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit as an MP.
Johnson, who served as the PM between 2019 and 2022, stepped down after a parliamentary committee told him that he will be sanctioned for misleading the House over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street during his premiership.
Comparing the situations in the British and Indian Parliament, Ramesh said: “Imagine if we were a truly functional Parliamentary democracy, like we used to be before the so-called Achhe Din was unleashed on us.”
The ‘Acche Din’ slogan was coined before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and has been the punchline of PM Narendra Modi.
“A Parliamentary Committee in the UK investigated and concluded that PM Boris Johnson lied to Parliament. He has now resigned as MP and quit politics, he says for now. There are some other PMs who provide the Parliament and the nation with a daily dose of TruthFree sweeteners. Imagine if they were to be held accountable for their lies, distortions, fabrications and silences on burning national issues. Imagine if we were a truly functional Parliamentary democracy, like we used to be before the so-called Achhe Din was unleashed on us,” Ramesh tweeted.
Boris Johnson and parliamentary inquiry
Johnson, 58, was being probed by a parliamentary inquiry looking into “partygate,” a series of rule-breaking government parties during the Covid-19 pandemic, whether he misled the House of Commons about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street.
On Friday, Johnson received a confidential letter from the MP-led privileges Committee over the crucial matter, following which he quit.
He departed with a ferocious tirade at his political opponents — and at his successor, Rishi Sunak.
He called the committee investigating him — which has members from both government and opposition parties — a “kangaroo court.”
“Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts,” Johnson said.
The resignation will trigger a special election to replace Johnson as a lawmaker for a suburban London seat in the House of Commons.
Johnson, who has been surrounded by a series of scandals and comebacks, led the Conservatives to a landslide victory in 2019 but was forced out by his own party less than three years later.
He had been awaiting the outcome of an investigation by a House of Commons standards committee over misleading statements he made to Parliament.
Police eventually issued 126 fines over the late-night soirees, boozy parties, and “wine time Fridays,” including one to Johnson, and the scandal helped hasten the end of his premiership.
Johnson has acknowledged misleading Parliament when he assured lawmakers that no rules had been broken, but he said he didn’t do so deliberately.
He told the committee he “honestly believed” the five events he attended, including a send-off for a staffer and his own surprise birthday party, were “lawful work gatherings” intended to boost morale among overworked staff members coping with a deadly pandemic.
(With agency inputs)