Congress party is fighting with its own tentacles which are creating trouble for it. Low on hopes due to failure in election, the party is trying to push passage of at least one bill from the bag of 39 in this session to ensure whatever goodwill it can get.
Karma is hounding Congress. As soon as the parliament started its last session, the MPs from Seemandhra and Telangana created a ruckus. Cutting across the party lines, while Seemandhra MPs carried placard for united Andhra, Telangana MPs shouted slogans demanding separate state. Amid all this, MPs of Shiromani Akali Dal protested against Congress over 1984 riots. Carrying placards and shouting slogans, they wanted day-to-day trial of pending cases against Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler.
Speaker Meira Kumar, with her mellowed ‘baith jaiye’ and few angry ‘baith jaiye’ requests, adjourned the house at noon and later for the day. No business was transacted, no debate was held.
Finance minister P Chidambaram told media that he was doubtful whether key legislations will be passed in the parliament. However, as said by the author in an earlier article, he was sure that Finance Bill, Vote of Account and Appropriation Bill will be passed.
Presuming that he caught a whiff of main opposition BJP’s plans, Chidambaram said that he will be disappointed if these bills are passed without any debate.
BJP, in all its might, has similar plans. The opposition wants to ensure smooth operation of the government by letting passage of these bills as it is almost sure of filling in the shoes after general elections. But for the other bills, it has plans to sit still and watch the government crumble under the pressure of its own allies.
It is not saying anything on the ‘T-Bill’ which has become a fishbone in the throat of congress. Though, everyone is aware of BJP’s support for the creation of smaller states, it chose to question government’s preparedness for tackling the situation and ensuring smooth operation of the government.
Stuck between Telangana and Rahul Gandhi’s anti-graft Bills, the Congress has become a matter of ridicule for the opposition which is questioning its willingness to pass the bills in the parliament even when the prime minister is urging all parties to come together and let the parliament function.
The problem here is that Congress party is fighting with its own tentacles which are creating trouble for it. Low on hopes due to failure in election, the party is trying to push passage of at least one bill from the bag of 39 in this session to ensure whatever goodwill it can get.
If the Congress is unable to quell the rebellion among its Seemandhra MPs, what happened today will be repeated over and over again until this ‘last session’ lasts. It can suspend its own MPs but that would be a loss of face for the party which claims to have taken the decision to form Telangana after considerable consultations. And a failure to form the new state may result in the party facing the possibility of losing both the Seemandhra and Telangana regions to other political parties in the state.
The Telagana Rashtra Samiti, which has held back on its decision to merge with Congress, will not think twice before joining any other party if Congress fails in its promise. With that, Congress will be washed out in the same manner as parliament sessions without any business.
Even the creation of a new state won’t benefit Congress much as the multi-faceted political scenario in the region will sway voters in multiple paths.
In all this, Rahul Gandhi’s six anti-graft bills will be lost and so will its goodwill.
