Oppn battle-ready to take on BJP over key issues in House

Oppn plans to corner govt on economic crisis, job losses, Covid and LAC standoff

NEWDELHI: From the slowdown in the economy and job losses, to the alleged mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic and the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, the Opposition is getting battleready to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the monsoon session of the Parliament, according to multiple members familiar with the matter.

HT reported on Wednesday that a truncated session is set to run from September 14 to October 1, as per recommendations made by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has called a meeting on Thursday to finalise arrangements to conduct the session during the pandemic.This may include the use of at least 10 display screens for live proceedings, placards to indicate names of parties, and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation in the air conditioning system.

While the BJP has prepared its own game plan to counter the Opposition offensive, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress will soon hold Parliamentary Party meetings to deliberate and strategise on how best to take on the ruling party. The Union government is looking to clear 11 ordinances, HT reported on

Wednesday, that expire after six months if not replaced by Bills, which need to be passed in six weeks.

“Before Parliament begins, the Congress Parliamentary Party will meet and have a threadbare discussion about the best strategy to counter the BJP,” said Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Trinamool Congress MP and spokesperson, Derek O’Brien, too said that the party will deliberate and decide what subjects to take up. “The main assertion is that the Parliament belongs to the Opposition and an appropriate amount of time should be given so that all issues can be addressed,” O’Brien said. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Sumathy Thamizhachi Thangapandian and Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, too, said that an adequate amount of time should be made available for discussion on the floor of the House. According to Chowdhury, the claims that China has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh will be a central issue in the proceedings of the House. The Congress has been attacking the BJP for being in “denial” about the incursion.

DMK MP Sumathy also said that the government will have to answer for the “loss of the life of 20 Indian soldiers” in the bloody face-off with China’s PLA, which also lost an unspecified number of soldiers.

“The Chinese statement clearly shows that there has been an incursion,” said Jha. “Then why is the government in denial, why are they fixated on a trial balloon diplomacy.”

The parties also contended that the government has failed to adequately address the Covid crisis, leading to job losses across the spectrum, and especially for migrant workers. “Unemployment is at an all time high,” said Chowdhary. “The government will have to explain why the youth do not have jobs anymore.”

The leaders argued that the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis has had a cascading effect on the economy and the country, and called for a road map to fix the economy, something it has failed to do till now.

Two other issues set to come up are passing of executive orders to clear the National Education Policy (NEP), the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and setting up the PM-Cares fund, though the Supreme Court last week ruled that money from the fund does not need to be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund. “Why are there 11 ordinances? Has India become an Ordinance Raj,” said a TMC MP who asked not to be named.

The leaders said that the turning of Jammu & Kashmir into a “virtual prison” will also be taken up, along with the issue that several states are not getting Goods and Services Tax dues on time.

The RJD’s Jha said that the truncated session may limit the Opposition’s ability to question the multiple executive decisions taken by the government, while Chowdhury said that the House must not be “disempowered”, pointing to the plan to do away with Question Hour, which he said was “integral to the functioning of the House”.

BJP MP Rakesh Sinha said that in recent years obstructionism and cynicism acquired centrality of opposition ‘ politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity graph went up not only in India but also in international arena due to his role to manage crisis emanated from Covid-19. He succeeded in isolating China in international fora by aggressively questions its policy of expansionism.

Sanjay Kumar, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies director, said that the time will be utilised by the government to try and push their legislations through, but there is host of issues that the opposition can pick up. “The issues are related. A discussion on the failure of the government to handle the Covid crisis can easily lead to a conversation about the economic slowdown and the plight of migrants.”