The resurgence of regional parties in the budget session

NEW DELHI: The budget session of the Parliament has witnessed a resurgence of regional parties, which had been largely relegated to the background in the last two sessions. Though the Congress and the Left parties have been leading the charge against the ruling NDA, smaller parties are also making their presence felt in the budget session.

The Biju Janata Dal, for instance, is preparing to target both the BJP and the Congress. Party leader Bhartruhari Mahtab has given a notice for a short duration discussion on the Pathankot terror attack, while his party colleague Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has given another notice for a calling attention motion on the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

When the BJD had earlier teamed up with the AIADMK and the BJP to corner the Congress on the alleged Aircel-Maxis scam, there were murmurs of “matchfixing”. The BJD also wanted to embarrass the BJP soon after it moved an amendment to the Motion of Thanks to the President’ s address in the Lok Sabha demanding a special category status for Odisha. The motion got defeated, but the BJD managed to secure 80 votes with the support of the Congress. The BJP was forced to vote against the motion, drawing flak from adversaries for working against Odisha’s interests.

While the BJD is seeking to maintain equidistance from the B JP and the Congress, other regional parties’ parliamentary tactics have been driven by the political exigencies in their respective states. The AIADMK had disrupted proceedings in both houses of Parliament over the Aircel-Maxis deal, a move that came in the backdropof the DMK-Congress-alliance in the coming assembly polls.

Meanwhile, DMK leader Kanimozhi is preparing to raise the issue of the Centre’s attempt to impose Sanskrit in educational institutions, said party sources.

Last week, the Trinamool Congress took many by surprise when it sided with the Congress in the Lok Sabha. While it was seen as an attempt to wean the Congress away from the Left, Mamata Banerjee’s party did create a buzz in political circles.

After the Congress and the Left took the lead in attacking the NDA government for recent incidents in Hyderabad and Jawaharlal Nehru universities, the BSP chose to disrupt proceedings in the Rajya Sabha over Rohith Vemula’s suicide. There are a host of other instances underlining the aggressive tactics of smaller parties in the budget session of the Parliament. At all-party meetings ahead of t he session, they were the ones who had strongly argued for a smooth functioning of Parliament.