Oppn’s common ground against Modi govt since 2014: Land and farm laws to Covid crisis to ‘misuse’ of agencies

Since the Modi-led BJP stormed to power in 2014, there have been several instances when these parties, some of whom share fractious ties, have made common cause against various decisions or policies of the Modi government, even though on very few issues have 19 parties signed a joint statement. A look at some of these instances:

Protest against land acquisition amendment legislation, March 2015

Within a year of Modi taking charge as the PM, his government faced the fury of a joint Opposition against the land acquisition amendment legislation, which was brought as an ordinance to ostensibly simplify the process of companies acquiring agricultural land for industrial purposes. Led by the Congress, the leaders of 14 Opposition parties took out a rally from Parliament to the Rashtrapati Bhawan in March 2015. The government eventually withdrew the legislation.

Skipping foundation stone laying event of new Parliament building, December 2020

In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the leaders of many Opposition parties shared a common stage on several occasions, even though the shape of “unity” among them remained amorphous. In December 2020, as PM Modi took the lead in laying the foundation stone of the new Parliament building, presiding over a multifaith prayer and a havan ceremony, many Opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC and DMK, stayed away from the event. However, no joint statement was then issued by them.

Protest against three contentious farm laws, January 2021

The winter of 2020 presented another opportunity to the Opposition parties to keep aside their differences and rally around a common cause as farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh converged on Delhi’s borders to launch a massive agitation against the three agricultural laws brought by the Modi government with the avowed objective to reform the sector.

In January 2021, as many as 17 Opposition parties announced the boycott of the President’s customary address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in solidarity with the agitating farmers’ unions. The signatories to their joint statement in this regard included the Congress, NCP, TMC, NC, DMK, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, RJD, CPM, CPI, RSP, PDP, MDMK, Muslim League, AIUDF and the Kerala Congress (M). In November 2021, the PM announced the repeal of the farm laws.

Joint statement on Covid situation, May 2021

In May 2021, the leaders of 13 Opposition parties – including the Congress, Left and the TMC, who had fought bitterly in the West Bengal polls – came together and asked the Modi government to launch a free mass vaccination drive across the country in view of a sharp surge in Covid-19 cases. In a joint statement, senior Opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, also asked the Centre to pay attention to ensuring uninterrupted flow of Oxygen supplies to all hospitals and health centres across the country.

Joint letter to PM seeking resumption of vaccination for 18-44 age group, May 2021

Amid the coronavirus second wave in May 2021, many states had suspended the Covid vaccination drive for 18-44 age group due to the shortage of jabs. The leaders of 12 Opposition parties had then written to PM Modi, asking the Centre to procure vaccines centrally from global and domestic sources and begin a free, universal mass vaccination campaign across the country. The letter was signed by the Congress, TMC, Shiv Sena(UBT), DMK, JMM, JD(S), NCP, SP, RJD, CPM, CPI and the NC.

Joint letter to President over Stan Swamy’s death in judicial custody, July 2021

Expressing their “intense grief and outrage” at the death of Father Stan Swamy under judicial custody, the leaders of 10 major Opposition parties, in July 2021, asked President Ram Nath Kovind to direct the Centre to act against “those responsible for foisting false cases on him, his continued detention in jail and inhuman treatment”. They also demanded the release of all those jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case and others held “under politically motivated cases”. The letter to the President was signed by the Congress, TMC, DMK, JMM, JD-S, NC, NCP, RJD, CPI-M, and the CPI.

Joint statement against PM’s ‘silence’ on hate speech, April 2022

Voicing concerns against incidents of communal violence and hate speech, the leaders of 13 Opposition parties, in April 2022, charged that the “silence” of PM Modi and his government against those “who propagated bigotry and incited and provoked society through words and actions was an eloquent testimony to the fact that such private armed mobs enjoyed the luxury of official patronage”. The joint statement was issued by the Congress, NCP, TMC, DMK, JMM, RJD, NC, CPM, CPI, Forward Bloc, RSP, Muslim League, and the CPI(ML).

Joint petition in SC against ‘misuse’ of central agencies, March 2023

In March 2023, 14 Opposition parties approached the Supreme Court over the “arbitrary use” of the CBI and Enforcement Directorate against its leaders. The apex court admitted their plea, and later junked it. The petition was filed by the Congress, DMK, TMC, RJD, AAP, BRS, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), JMM, JD(U), CPM, CPI, SP and the NC.