NEW DELHI: Parliament is set to hold a discussion on the Constitution of India in the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of its adoption, but the landmark event may see the rivals using the stage to target each other instead.
Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met Speaker Om Birla Wednesday and urged that the House should function and the December 13-14 discussion on Constitution should not fall prey to disruptions by BJP. The governing party said its intent was evident from the fact that dates were fixed in the two Houses with the idea of holding the discussion.
PM, Shah to join Constitution debat
It added that PM Modi would reply to the debate in Lok Sabha, and home minister Amit Shah would initiate the debate in Rajya Sabha on December 16.
But the general belief is that the bitterness may result in the Constitution being reduced to a cover the rivals will use to corner each other with their political agenda.
There was a hint of what is to come in Rahul’s remarks to reporters on Wednesday when asked about disruptions and BJP’s allegations about Congress’s links to George Soros. “There is a commitment for debate on the Constitution on Dec 13. They can level any allegation against me, but it should happen. Govt does not want a discussion on Adani and they want to distract. But in the end, we will not spare them,” Rahul said.
With the two Houses having witnessed continuous disruption in the ongoing session in the wake of the govt’s refusal to take up the Adani indictment, the debate on the Constitution presents the opposition with a readymade stage to try to embarrass govt and Modi. Issues such as caste census, removal of 50% cap on reservations, BJP’s “controlling” of constitutional bodies, Manipur crisis, Places of Worship Act and incidents like Sambhal, communalism and bias against opposition-governed states are other subjects likely to dominate the speeches of Congress and the opposition.
BJP is set to raise the issues of suspension of democracy by the Congress govt led by Indira Gandhi as well as efforts of non-BJP govts to roll out quotas for Muslims. It may retaliate against Congress’s attack by creating openings to push its allegation that billionaire George Soros and Congress, including its representatives Sonia Gandhi and Rahul, had combined with “anti-India” forces. BJP has alleged Sonia had links to Forum of Democratic Leaders-Asia Pacific (FDL-AP) Foundation, an organisation financed by George Soros Foundation, which has backed the idea of Kashmir as an independent nation.
Sources in Congress said the party’s charge will be led by Rahul. It will also check with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for second speaker, while it has the likes of Gaurav Gogoi, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari among others. SP’s Akhilesh Yadav is another major face in opposition camp who would use the national platform to send out a signal to the electorate in UP. Modi’s reply to the debate will be designed to answer the opposition’s political offensive and he is adept at cashing in on the privilege of having the last word.
The 2024 LS poll results gave opposition a boost, but BJP’s victories in Haryana and Maharashtra have neutralised much of anti-BJP camp’s momentum. The debate may set the trajectory of the battle going forward.