Congress stares down, Government may blink

Senior ministers are of the view that the suspension should not last five days as ruled by the Lok Sabha Speaker. “Usually, some senior ministers or senior leaders request the chair to revoke the suspension and the chair obliges. There have been many such occasions in both Houses where the presiding officers listen to the requests of the most senior leaders and allow members to return to the House,” a senior minister said.

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While the Congress allies as well as the TMC, JD(U) and RJD boycotted the proceedings, the Left parties and Samajwadi Party registered their protest within Lok Sabha and walked out during Question Hour. The ‘non-aligned’  BJD was visibly upset as the House functioned without the opposition. BJD chief whip Tathagata Satpathy, raising the issue of floods in Odisha, said no bill should be passed without the opposition. AIADMK’s P Venugopal also sought the Speaker’s permission to speak on the suspension of Congress MPs but was not allowed.

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Despite the absence of Congress and other opposition parties, the House did witness protests with YSR Congress members, carrying placards, stormed the well, seeking special category status for Andhra Pradesh.      TRS members, with slogans written on paper pinned to their shirts, also staged protests from the aisle, demanding a separate high court for Telangana.

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A source said the government has to work out a strategy to “make the atmosphere conducive”. “Since it was a suo motu decision of the Speaker, we have to consult her to know if the chair is willing to consider reducing the duration of the suspension. If so, the government has to get an assurance from the Congress that its MPs will not humiliate the Speaker. They will have to at least assure that no placards will be displayed inside the House,” the source said.

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The government, the source said, could approach senior leaders like Mulayam Singh to speak to Congress floor leaders to find a way out. “Talking to the Congress leadership, especially Rahul Gandhi who has taken a tough stance against our government, is not possible now,” a minister conceded.

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For now, the Congress does not seem to be in a mood to give up. The party assessment is that its protests and the suspension has boosted its campaign against the government. The government’s U-turn on the land bill — that it is willing to incorporate the consent clause — is also a shot in its arm.

According to a source, the government received indication from some Congress leaders that it was ready for a compromise for the passage of the GST bill if the government is ready to give in on the opposition’s demands on the land bill. But developments since — Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Facebook post criticising the Congress stand on GST, press conferences by ministers attacking the Congress — and the “suspension” have changed the situation.