Parliament Monsoon session is likely to be stormy, as hostile build-up between Congress, BJP shows

Despite public declarations by political parties across the spectrum that they would like Parliament to function smoothly, the Monsoon session that commences on Wednesday is likely to be stormy. Threatening to cast a shadow over the session are the year-end Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as well as next year’s general elections.

For the record, the leaders of 13 Opposition parties at a meeting on Monday to discuss floor coordination said they are keen that the session not be marred by disruptions because they want to hold the government accountable on the state of the economy, unemployment, bank frauds, agrarian distress and atrocities against Dalits, Adivasis and women, among other issues.

“We want to make it clear that the Opposition wants the session to run smoothly as we would like to raise issues concerning the common man,” Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, told reporters after the meeting. The parties that participated in the discussions included the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Nationalist Congress Party and the Left parties. The position of the Opposition, articulated by senior Congress leader Azad, is essentially aimed at pre-empting the Bharatiya Janata Party from blaming them for disrupting proceedings, as it did in the last session. Instead, it wants to put the onus on the government to ensure the smooth functioning of the House.

The Budget Session that concluded on April 6 was the least productive since 2000, according to PRS Legislative Research, with daily disruptions paralysing proceedings.

Narendra Modi versus Rahul Gandhi

However, this session is unlikely to be a smooth affair, as the ongoing war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress indicates. While the Opposition parties will attempt to keep the focus on the deficiencies of the Narendra Modi government, the BJP has sought to change the political discourse with an eye on the elections. Ever since Urdu daily Inquilab claimed that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had told a group of Muslim intellectuals on Thursday that the Congress is “a party of Muslims”, the BJP has created a controversy and kept it in the headlines. Though the Congress has denied the media report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers have not stopped their attacks on Gandhi. They have accused the Congress of creating a religious divide and indulging in “minority appeasement”.

“I read in the newspapers that naamdaar [entitled] said the Congress is a party of the Muslims,” Modi declared at a public meeting in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday. “But I want to ask the Congress – are you a party of only Muslim men but also of Muslim women?”

Modi’s statement is a clear indication that the BJP will seek to corner the Congress and other Opposition parties over the passage of the triple talaq Bill. The Bill – which seeks to criminalise the practice by which Muslim men can divorce their wives simply by uttering talaq three times – was cleared by the Lok Sabha in December. But it was blocked in the Rajya Sabha the following month by a numerically-stronger Opposition, which wanted the legislation to be scrutinised by a select committee. The BJP declined to send the Bill to a parliamentary committee and instead chose to keep it in abeyance so that it could use it as a political tool against the Opposition, especially the Congress, at an opportune moment.

With the BJP now accusing the Congress of adopting an “anti-women” stand on the triple talaq Bill, the grand old party has sought to counter this by asking the government to expedite the passage of the women’s reservation Bill, which seeks to reserve 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies for women. On Monday, Rahul Gandhi wrote to the prime minister asking the government to ensure “this landmark legislation becomes a reality”.

TDP in the wings

As the Opposition and government prepare to face off in Parliament, the BJP’s former ally, the Telugu Desam Party, is also getting ready to battle the ruling party. The Chandrababu Naidu-led party had stalled proceedings in the Budget Session to press its demand for special category status for Andhra Pradesh, and even walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. It is planning a re-run of the same.

It plans to bring a no-confidence motion against the Modi government for which it has approached the other Opposition parties. This came up for discussion briefly at Monday’s meeting, where various Opposition parties said the no-confidence motion should not focus on a single issue but should cover a larger canvas that would allow them to put the government on the mat on its failure to deliver on its promises.

Rajya Sabha election

Another factor expected to add to tensions between the Opposition and government is the election to the post of deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. The 13 Opposition parties that met on Monday decided they would put up a joint candidate for this post, which was held by Congress leader PJ Kurien till he retired on July 1. No names were discussed but there was consensus that the Opposition should contest this election unitedly.

The BJP is keen to have this post. Though it is now the single-largest party in the Upper House, it does not have the numbers to ensure a victory for its candidate, . It could instead offer the post to an alliance partner like Naresh Gujral of the Shiromani Akali Dal. However, nothing is final and there is even speculation that the BJP may delay the election if the victory of a candidate of its choice is thwarted by a united Opposition. Efforts are currently on to enlist the support of the Biju Janata Dal, which can tilt the balance in favour of the ruling alliance.