Congress’ own leaders may spell trouble for it.
New Delhi: Unity is likely to be elusive for the Opposition in the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday. The presidential elections will take place on the first day of the session. A large section of the opposition is going to vote for NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu in the presidential polls. What worries the Congress more is that the rift in the Opposition bloc over presidential choice may continue to persist during the entire session. Congress’ effort to keep its allies united during the session is unlikely to yield positive results. Shiv Sena and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha have already announced their support for Murmu. So, these two parties will hardly be seen with Congress. Parties such as TMC and TRS are already maintaining distance from Congress.
With this in view, it will be easy for the floor managers of the government to ensure a smooth functioning of the Houses. However, the government will on Monday hold a customary all-party meeting seeking cooperation of opposition to conduct the proceedings in Parliament smoothly. Congress has declared that it is going to raise its voice against the issues like price rise, unemployment, alleged misuse of probe agencies and the Agneepath scheme.
Meanwhile, the presidential and vice-presidential elections will take place as the Parliament meets for the Monsoon session. While the opposition is divided over presidential polls, the government’s vice-presidential pick may again put the bloc in a fresh dilemma. However, the opposition will take a call on its nominee for Vice President’s post after the NDA announces its candidate. Congress is sure to field its candidate. The vice-presidential polls will take place on 6 August, and the session will last till 12 August.
There is no unanimity in the opposition over the leadership issue even in the second term of the Modi government. The opposition is divided into various groups, with Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, Chandrashekar Rao’s TRS and Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP already against Congress. SP and BSP are also maintaining distance from the grand old party. The NDA is benefiting from the division in the opposition bloc. After Mamata Banerjee’s failure to unite the opposition, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has opened a front against the NDA government. He wants to lead the opposition in 2024. Congress has decided not to accept any other leader, and it will pursue this strategy during the session.
In fact, parties like TMC, Shiv Sena and SP are against Rahul Gandhi taking a leadership role. This is the reason why differences were seen among these parties in the last few sessions. Congress thinks that the same situation will be there in the upcoming session as well. So, it has prepared its own separate strategy. Congress will hold consultation with some opposition leaders as well. Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjuna Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Choudhry and Jairam Ramesh announced that the party will oppose price rise, unemployment, Agneepath scheme, etc. The “Chinese intrusion” will also be a key issue to be raised by the Congress. The Congress will demand a reply from the government on alleged misuse of central probe agencies. Congress accuses the government of using ED and CBI to intimidate opposition leaders. ED had summoned Rahul Gandhi several times for long questioning. Congress had hit the streets against it, seeking to send out a message that it is not going to bow down under pressure. In fact, the Congress wants to be seen as an aggressive opposition in Parliament during the Monsoon session.
Meanwhile, the Congress will take out a rally in every district. Each rally will cover a distance of 75 km and shall be held between 9 August and 15 August. The party will also hold Bharat Jodo Yatra from 2 October. Party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said that all the state presidents have been asked to take out rallies in coordination with the district presidents.