NEW DELHI: The winter session of Parliament saw differences within the INDIA bloc come to the fore with some regional parties differing openly with the Congress and some even questioning its leadership of the opposition alliance. The session saw the Congress navigating a tough path as the grand-old-party came under repeated attacks from the ruling NDA and also found itself isolated within the opposition’s INDIA bloc on some key issues. At the end of it, it was the controversy over Amit Shah’s Ambedkar remarks that once again united the Congress and other opposition parties as they protested together to corner the government.
For the Congress, the impact of two disastrous electoral performances was evident as the grand-old-party came to Parliament losing the psychological advantage that had come with the Lok Sabha gains when it had almost doubled its tally.
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While the ruling NDA left no opportunity to corner the Congress over its shock defeats in Haryana and Maharashtra, INDIA bloc ally Mamata Banerjee slammed it’s leadership and staked claim to lead the opposition alliance. Mamata got support from two top leaders of the alliance – NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar who called her a “capable leader” and RJD chief Lalu Prasad who said the West Bengal chief minister should be allowed to lead the opposition bloc. Lalu, an old time ally of the Congress, also made light of any objections that the grand-old-party may have over change of leadership. However, allies like DMK in Tamil Nadu and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah backed the Congress. When Trinamool cited Mamata’s track record of defeating the BJP again and again in West Bengal, Congress leaders questioned her track record outside the state leading to a war of words between the allies.
On the Adani US indictment issue, Congress did not get the support of two key regional leaders who refused to join the party-led protests. This was after Gautam Adani was charged by US prosecutors over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay $250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts.
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Rahul Gandhi once again led the charge and demanded that Gautam Adani should be arrested after his indictment in the US and accused the government of protecting him. But Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party insisted that the controversy in UP’s Sambhal was far more important and distanced itself from INDIA bloc protests over the issue. Mamata’s party, on the other hand, not just stayed away but also blamed the Congress along with the BJP for repeated adjournments of Parliament.
However, several other allies of the Congress including AAP, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), DMK and the Left parties joined the protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded accountability.
Then came the issue of misuse of EVMs on which the Congress was again pushed to the corner by some of its own allies. Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah advised the grand-old-party to not keep whining about the EVMs and at the same time, continue fighting elections. “The same EVMs gave you 99 seats. You celebrated that victory, but then you go on complaining about the same when you lose elections. You can’t be selective in blaming the EVMs,” he said.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee then rubbed salt on Congress’s wounds as he said those raising questions on EVMs should give a demonstration of any “discrepancies” to the Election Commission. He went on to call the allegations made by some leaders as “random statements.”
“The people who raise questions about EVMs, if they have any evidence, should go and show a demo to the Election Commission. If the work is done properly during the EVM randomisation and the booth workers check during mock polls and counting, then I don’t think there is any substance in these allegations,” Abhishek Banerjee said.
“If still someone feels that EVMs can be hacked, then they should meet the Election Commission and show how EVMs can be hacked… Nothing can be done by just making random statements,” the TMC MP added. The Congress reacted strongly to the remarks of these allies and reminded them that it was not alone in doubting the EVMs.
Also read: TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee dismisses Congress’s EVM tampering claim
Then happened the Constitution debate in Parliament and the Congress once again come under vicious attack from the BJP and other partners of the ruling NDA, who accused the grand-old-party and the Gandhis of using the Constitution for their own benefit.
While the Congress and other opposition leaders would have hoped to pin down the government over some of the recent incidents, the idea perhaps boomeranged as the BJP used the debate to unleash a scathing attack on the Congress reminding it of Emergency, Shah Bano case and several other constitutional amendments carried out under the party’s rule. Prime Minister Narendra Modi not just cited these incidents but also alleged that the Congress had misused its own party constitution to target leaders who had differences with the Gandhis.
However, much to the relief of Congress, at the end of the 4-day debate, Amit Shah’s reference to Ambedkar in his concluding speech in Rajya Sabha gave the grand-old-party some ammunition to bounce back and aggressively attack the government.
The Congress and other opposition parties joined hands to mount pressure on the government demanding an apology and resignation of Amit Shah. Prime Minister Modi, who led the defence against Shah, was also targeted for not taking action against his Cabinet minister.
A face-off between the opposition and NDA MPs on the Parliament premises over the issue left two NDA leaders former minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput injured. After the incident, the BJP filed a police complaint against Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “physical assault and incitement” and sought his indictment under sections of attempt to murder and other charges. The Congress, meanwhile, accused the BJP MPs of pushing its chief Mallikarjun Kharge and “physically manhandling” Gandhi. A delegation of Congress MPs, also filed a complaint visiting the police station in person.
The last few days of the session saw a lot of drama with the Congress dominating the show. But the respite for the grand-old-party would be short-lived. Already, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has announced that it will not contest Delhi elections early next year in alliance with the Congress. In Bihar, where elections will be held towards the end of 2025 – the ties between Congress and RJD are already under strain. Clearly, the Congress needs to perform in elections and also put its house in order if it wants to continue to assert over its regional allies, many of whom are its political rivals in the states.