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Journalism of Courage
Last week, Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha came together twice – first to give notice for bringing a motion for the removal of Vice-President and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, and second to demand the impeachment of controversial Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav. But these two displays of cooperation have brought little cheer for the INDIA bloc, and certainly little hope of unity.
While what the INDIA bloc needs is a meeting of the minds to create a conducive atmosphere and a common agenda or programme, most of the parties are pulling in different directions – be it on the leadership question or the issues that the alliance should be raising.
The late K M Mani, once a stalwart in Kerala politics and the leader of the Kerala Congress (different from the Congress), was fond of saying of his party: “We are a party that splits as we grow and grows as we split.” In the case of the INDIA bloc, it is not growing in electoral strength, while its differences on issues are growing.
Post the Assembly election results where the Congress failed to make any impact, the allies are done sheathing their differences as well. Most of the INDIA bloc parties – the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) – are not on the same page as the Congress on one of its pet issues, the charges against the Adani Group, and have skipped the party’s symbolic daily protests in Parliament over it.
Even the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that used to consistently attack the Adani Group earlier has kept its distance, as well as snubbed the Congress leadership’s push for an alliance for the Delhi Assembly elections. The nudge of veterans like NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has not helped, while in a subtle message to the Congress, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was by Kejriwal’s side at an AAP event in Delhi on Monday.
Over the weekend, another ally joined the chorus against the Congress. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who has been blunt about the Congress earlier too, questioned the Congress’s stance on EVMs, saying they “cannot be a problem only when you lose elections”.
On Monday, the Trinamool Congress, among the first parties to demand a return to ballot papers, called the Congress’s anti-EVM rhetoric empty. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said his personal opinion was that those who doubt EVMs should be able to prove the alleged discrepancies with them. “If they are unable to do that, they should agitate on the ground. Merely making two-three statements is not enough.”
Turning the knife in, Banerjee suggested that the real problem may be that the Congress is not as active on the ground as required. He had been overseeing the TMC’s election efforts on the ground for some time, Banerjee added. “If you work properly during EVM randomisation and party workers at polling booths check EVMs during mock polls, or review form 17C which is used to check ballot units or control units during the counting of votes, I don’t think there is anything substantial in these allegations.”
This is the second swipe by the TMC against the Congress, days after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said she was happy to lead the INDIA bloc “if the others can’t manage”.
In his comments Monday, Abhishek Banerjee said the INDIA bloc would discuss Mamata’s proposal. “She is the seniormost (in the bloc). She has been an MP for seven terms. And she is a three-time CM. She was a Central minister four times… I feel there should be a detailed discussion,” Banerjee said.
Unlike other Opposition parties such as the SP and DMK which had defeated the BJP as part of alliances, the TMC had defeated it on its own, Banerjee said. “In fact, it has defeated both the BJP and the Congress. That shows its strength.”
Veteran RJD leader Lalu Prasad too has sent the Congress a warning with his remarks backing Mamata. With the countdown beginning to the Bihar elections, even the long-time Gandhi family supporter appears to be weighing his options.
