When BJP is out, Left is in, as The Opposition

Parliament records show that except for May 2, when the NDA attended the House, the Left, with one-ninth of the MPs, hogged nearly 40 per cent of talktime and most of the calling-attention motions. This could be a forewarning of what lies in store for the Congress as it moves closer to the West Bengal and Kerala elections.

Consider these:

April 27
• Backed by his colleagues, Prabodh Panda (CPI) loudly protested against the possibility of the government renewing arms supply to Nepal.

• Minati Sen (CPM) complained that anganwadi workers were not being regularized and she was promptly supported by the leader of her party in the House, Basudeb Acharya who wanted to know what the minister had to say.

• The unstoppable Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) claimed Air India engineering employees’ staff elections were not being held because of ballot boxes being put under lock and key. Dasgupta was supported by S S Reddy (CPI), Mohammed Salim (CPM) and Acharya.

April 28
• Dasgupta was back in a calling attention motion on ‘‘the situation arising out of non-performing assets’’ and government’s ‘‘inaction’’ against ‘‘huge defaulters.’’ Ignoring the fact that there is now a law to seize defaulters’ assets, he said he would not accept finance minister P Chidambaram’s figures. ‘‘My information says that the Honourable Minister has not been truthful.’’ or ‘‘He has not been accurate or has been devoid of material fact. I can give you more parliamentary expressions.’’

• Joining hands with Dasgupta, CPM’s Hannan Mollah said: ‘‘Our party defines the character of the Indian government as a bourgeois landlord government led by the big bourgeois to help them rule the roost.’’

• Sunil Khan (CPM) then went on to lecture on the evils of PSU disinvestment.

• Participating in the Finance Bill discussions, CPI’s Sudhakar Reddy let the cat out: ‘‘(Speaker) Sir, I would request you to give me more time because the NDA is not there. Please allow us to utilize this opportunity.’’

April 29
• Sudhangshu Seal (CPM) was extremely critical because nothing was being done for the pay package of Doordarshan employees.

• Acharya warned the government not to think of reducing powers of the Central Administrative Tribunal. Later, he warned the government to change ‘‘its stereotype outlook’’ on rural banking.

May 2
• With the NDA walking in to take part in the Finance Bill debate, Left MPs didn’t have too much of a space or time. Still, meningitis came to their rescue with Mollah criticizing the Government for not keeping the House informed.

May 3
• Gurudas Dasgupta’s calling attention motion on female foeticide was more than harsh. He even said, ‘‘My motion should have been addressed to the Prime Minister and not to the Health Minister because it is not a simple case of sex determination …. (it) is a case of hostility towards womanhood’’. Left leaders like Hannan Mollah, Ram Chandra Dom and Minati Sen joined in.

• Santashri Chatterjee (CPM) warned against FDI in the retail sector.

May 4
• Acharya and Dasgupta led the attack against former Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie on the Centaur sale. But the Congress was not spared when the Women’s Reservation bill came up. Minati Sen was joined by Acharya in their demand that no further delay on 33 per cent reservation could be allowed.