The Bharatiya Janata Party’s floor management in Parliament appears to be unravelling in the face of the communal statements made by its MPs and the affiliate bodies of the Sangh Parivar like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.

After it succeeded in winning over the Biju Janata Dal and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the BJP believed that it would have a smooth run in the winter session of Parliament. It was convinced that the other opposition parties would not be able to close ranks in view of the inherent contradictions between Uttar Pradesh’s political opponents Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party and West Bengal’s arch rivals Trinamool Congress and the Left parties.

At the same time, the ruling party was sure that the Congress had not recovered sufficiently from its rout in the general election to play the role of effective opposition. The BJP felt particularly emboldened when it was able to push through its legislative agenda in the first week of the session without too much trouble.

Rivalries forgotten

However, the ruling alliance soon ran out of luck. It hit its first roadblock following Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s intemperate remarks at an election rally in Delhi. Much to its dismay, all the opposition parties, including the SP, BSP, Trinamool Congress and the Left parties, set aside their state rivalries to corner the BJP on its communal agenda. An otherwise dispirited Congress also lent enthusiastic support to the opposition protest.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP head Mayawati, who is normally averse to be seen in the Samajwadi Party’s company, took the lead in putting the BJP on the mat. Faced with a determined and united opposition, the BJP’s floor managers had no choice but to accede to the demand for a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing displeasure over Jyoti’s remarks.

Once the Niranjan Jyoti controversy died down, the BJP believed it would be business as usual. But a series of similarly divisive statements made by other party members ensured that the newfound unity among the opposition parties got further cemented. The ruling party was pushed on the backfoot again when an angry opposition took strong objection to BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj’s description of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse as a “patriot” and to the conversions of poor Muslims by the Bajrang Dal.

Wrong assessment

The conversion controversy remained centre stage after BJP MP Yogi Adityanath declared that the planned “ghar wapsi” programme in Aligarh will not be called off. Meanwhile, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani found herself in the eye of a storm following media reports that instructions had been given to schools to remain open on Christmas, which would instead be observed as National Governance Day to mark former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s birthday.

While the minister put out a formal statement denying the reports, no business could be transacted in the Rajya Sabha on Monday as a united opposition insisted that Modi participate and respond to a debate on conversions. The House witnessed rare unanimity between CPM leader Sitaram Yechury and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien, who got ample support from the Congress, which pitched in with a strong and forceful protest. “The opposition accounts for 130 members in a House of 245,” remarked O’Brien. “The government cannot ride roughshod over us.”

Satyavrat Chaturvedi, the Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, declared, “The BJP failed in its assessment of the situation. The opposition stands united.”

United on secularism

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance finds itself in a bind in the Upper House since it does not have a majority there. Its exasperation was evident when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley remarked sarcastically about the “unusual convergence between the Trinamool Congress and the Left parties”.

A senior BJP leader admitted that the communal statements made outside the Parliament had united the opposition and derailed House proceedings. “The opposition parties have differences on economic and other issues, but when it comes to secularism, they are on the same page,” said a senior BJP minister. “They have now got a political issue to corner us. It is all because of the unnecessary statements made by our members.”

In fact, the BJP had been banking on the differences among the opposition parties to get Congress support for the Insurance Bill, which has been cleared by the Parliamentary select committee and is now ready for passage in Parliament. Keen to push through the key reform legislation in this session, the BJP had even agreed to amend the Bill as suggested by the Congress in return for the promise that it would help in the Bill’s quick passage.

Wait for support

Although the Congress was initially amenable to supporting the Insurance Bill, there is a growing view in the party that it should not give in so easily and should keep the BJP waiting, just as it had to when the United Progressive Alliance government was in power. “If the Insurance Bill is passed, it will send out a message that the NDA government can deliver while we could not,” said a senior Congress leader, adding that the BJP is keen to pass the Bill before US President Obama’s visit next month. Another Congress leader said, “Why should we oblige the BJP?”

Besides the divisions within its ranks, the Congress is also under pressure from the other opposition parties not to wreck the united front. They have suggested that the Congress should delay its support for the Insurance Bill till the budget session next year.