The onset of the winter session of Parliament was expected to be tumultuous. There was also an expectation that the Opposition, invigorated with its increased numbers in the Lok Sabha would get its act together and take on the Treasury Benches unitedly just as it had six months ago during the Lok Sabha election. But then, prior to the winter session, Haryana happened followed by the Maharashtra Assembly election, testing the tenuous ties that bound the Opposition. Cracks have begun to show as some alliance partners express aspirations to lead the INDIA bloc.
Most significantly, it was the Congress, the helmsman of the INDIA bloc, that got severely tested, putting the alliance under severe strain. Conceding both States, one to the BJP and the other to an NDA alliance, was no small setback. The only face-saver was Jharkhand. Even here, more than the Congress, it was the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) that saved the day for the Opposition parties put together.
The winter session was therefore an opportunity to regroup, to make up for the electoral losses with an impressive show of united strength, at least on the floor of the House. But even this opportunity seems to be getting frittered away due to mainly the lack of co-ordination by the Congress. It can be argued that six months is enough time to craft a strategy and draw lessons. But the Opposition today, sadly, finds itself in greater disarray than before.
On the other hand, several people’s movements—be those led by farmers for a guaranteed and legal MSP or adequate compensation for lands acquired, or protests by mid-day meal, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) workers for decent living wages—appear to be making a greater impact in terms of a unified resistance to government policies.
The reign of confusion
To begin with, there has been not a single INDIA alliance coordination committee meeting after the Lok Sabha elections. “At the organisational level, the INDIA bloc has not met after the Lok Sabha election. This itself needs looking into if the bloc is to survive,” said sources. The byelections on 48 seats in 15 States exposed the fractures within. The elections were characterised by little or no understanding between the alliance partners. Confusion has therefore reigned as the BJP makes hay.
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Some of their leaders went on record to say that they were “together” and would be so in the Parliamentary election, suggesting that it would not be so in the States. The outcome in Maharashtra and Haryana only underscored this confusion.
Prior to the start of the winter session, the Congress called a meeting of Opposition parties where it was decided that the government would be cornered on the Adani indictment, continued violence in Manipur, the Sambhal violence and the situation in Bangladesh. To be fair, the Opposition parties functioned as one on the Adani indictment issue. They also successfully prevailed on the government to have a discussion on the Constitution, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its adoption. At an all-party meeting on December 3, the government agreed to have a two-day discussion in each House on the Constitution. This rapprochement, interestingly, came about after a sustained logjam in Parliament on the Adani issue.
The Left parties felt that the winter session was an opportunity for the Opposition to rally together on several important bills and issues. A wash out, they felt, would favour the BJP. But if there was a concrete strategy, it didn’t seem to be working out in a systematic manner on ground. Sources told Frontline that it was mainly due to the Congress’s lack of coordination with the INDIA alliance partners. “This could be either due to the Congress leadership’s collective inability or Rahul Gandhi’s individual inability to take everyone along. Rahul Gandhi himself doesn’t seem to be very available to the alliance partners,” said an INDIA bloc member. Despite the party’s willingness to coordinate with the bloc as a whole, its inertia was affecting the alliance partners.
Going solo
It is a fact that the Left parties felt that the Opposition should participate in Parliament proceedings properly given the importance of several Bills and the Adani issue. It is also a fact that the Opposition parties did rally together on more than one occasion on the Adani indictment, but on some occasions the Congress also went solo. The frequent adjournments did not help the Opposition much and there was disagreement over the constant stalling of Parliament even among the INDIA bloc partners.
“The Adani indictment issue is important. It has financial implications on fiscal integrity as well as on the functioning of the economy. Nothing prevents the government from constituting an inquiry just as it was done on the Bofors deal. A JPC [Joint Parliamentary Committee] too is a must. The BJP always poses a counter when attacked. To say that there is a foreign hand stalling India’s growth is akin to what Indira Gandhi said about foreign interference before imposing Emergency,” John Brittas, Rajya Sabha MP from the CPI(M) told Frontline. He was referring to BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi’s remarks in Parliament where he questioned the timing of the publication of the indictment of an “Indian businessman.”
While opposition parties united briefly on issues like the Adani investigation, their effectiveness crumbled due to Congress going solo on key matters and failing to hold coordination meetings since the Lok Sabha election.
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That the Opposition is represented in larger numbers gives them some advantage, numerically. But this has not translated into better floor coordination. Sources told Frontline that there has been some falling out between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress. The SP and its leadership believe the Sambhal violence was more important than Adani’s indictment and have stated so. Party MPs including Ram Gopal Yadav and Zia ur-Rahman publicly stated that the Adani issue was not as big as the violence and deaths in Sambhal. There were some reservations on the SP’s seating position in the Lok Sabha.
“The SP has been allotted seats among the Opposition benches in such a manner that it appears secondary to the Congress. The front row on the Opposition benches that falls opposite to where the Prime Minister is seated is normally allotted to stalwarts. Most of these seats are occupied by the Congress with a lone seat allotted to the SP facing but ‘away’ from the Prime Minister’s vantage point. Akhilesh Yadav has not got the importance he deserves. As a party that is leading the Opposition, the Congress could have accommodated its alliance partner’s interests,” said sources. Yadav himself has dismissed the seating arrangements as insignificant but if it has rankled at all, it was upto the Congress to resolve this, said sources.
On Sambhal as well, sources said it would have been better had the Congress taken the initiative and led an INDIA alliance team of members rather than going alone. In fact, the SP was also keen on a joint intervention and visit by the Opposition, sources said. Ultimately, both parties went on their own. Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to enter Sambhal. “Considering the threat the BJP poses, the Opposition should be more coherently prepared to take it on,” said Brittas.
Walk-outs and protests
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which expressed an open interest in steering the Opposition alliance in the backdrop of the electoral setbacks to the Congress, has preferred to stick to raising issues of price rise, unemployment, fiscal biases and the ‘Hindification of laws’ in Parliament. Other issues were also raised, some specific to State-level concerns, which was not unusual. For instance, with Delhi Assembly election round the corner, Raghav Chadha, Aam Aadmi Party MP, raised the issue of crimes against women in Delhi in Parliament.
There have been walk-outs and protests outside Parliament on the issues of MSP to the farmers, the Adani indictment, and more recently, on the targeted attacks on Rahul Gandhi with the BJP alleging links between billionaire George Soros, the OCCRP (Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) and the Congress. On the last, the Congress was unable to mobilise the complete support of the Opposition, though in principle, the INDIA bloc has been critical of the targeting by the BJP and for diverting the issue. On December 3, both the TMC and the SP stayed away from the Parliament protest on the Adani issue.
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The walk-outs are very much on the lines of previous Parliament sessions where the Congress staged them as the rest of the Opposition stayed put. Strategically, this seems to have worked. Some re-grouping by the Opposition may take place in the next few days with joint protests by INDIA bloc MPs. Several notices issued by Opposition MPs under Rule 267 were disallowed by the Rajya Sabha speaker. This Rule permits members to move notices for the suspension of Rules to discuss important issues.
The first week of the session that began on November 25 was a total wash out. There are 11 pending Bills listed for consideration and passing. Among these is the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill 2024, both contentious pieces of draft legislation.
At another level, it is unlikely that the government will allow a discussion on either a legal guarantee for farmers, or Manipur, or the Adani indictment. For now, it appears that the only meaningful debate that can ensue can be expected on the Constitution, which the Opposition parties can claim credit for.
The winter session comes to an end on December 20. If the Opposition wants, it can use this period for proper floor coordination instead of being seen to be pulling in different directions.