Opposition claims to have its arsenal full, but misses the target for want of united effort
What does it take for an opposition to put the government on the mat? It needs some solid issues that, if presented in an organised manner, should rake up anti-government feelings in the masses. And above all, the political parties that debate these issues should be united in their efforts in the legislature.
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Over the past two weeks in the state legislature, the Congress, the NCP and others have had certain material they used against the government, but their attempts weren’t so successful in damaging the Devendra Fadnavis-led cabinet, of which some ministers who were drafted in the council of ministers recently face charges of loan frauds. Cabinet ministers Jaykumar Raval and Sambhaji Nilangekar were at the centre of these allegations.
The ferocity of the leaders demanding action against the ministers resulted in several disruptions in the upper and lower houses. Dhananjay Munde, leader of the opposition in the upper house, declared that he would not allow proceedings to run unless and until ‘tainted’ ministers were sacked. But call it NCP’s step towards facilitating the legislative work or a compromise or the government’s parliamentary skills, the Munde-led elders laid down their arms in three days. This happened despite no assurance coming from the government.
The numbers game in Maharashtra is just like in the Rajya Sabha as far as the opposition’s dominance in concerned. The NCP enjoys a majority in the upper house. It was this sheer power that made NCP’s senior leader Ajit Pawar threaten the government in the lower house that the upper house would stall bills that the BJP had passed hastily using its majority in the assembly. Will Pawar’s party use its majority in the legislative council to haul up the BJP further over corruption? NCP leaders say their party was shying away from carrying this debate forward because it had lost the 2014 elections mainly because of corruption cases, and pressing charges against the BJP would boomerang.
Naturally, the Congress isn’t pleased with the NCP’s stance. It has kept the issue alive, thanks to its leader of opposition in the assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil. He has demanded the sacking of Raval and Nilangakar time and again in the house. This monsoon session, in particular, has seen Vikhe-Patil redeeming some lost pride because he was accused of being too mild towards the BJP. The former Congress minister, whose family is a sworn political adversary of the Pawars, is running from pillar to post, carrying with him reams of documents that he claims to have sourced from investigating agencies.
When CM Fadnavis told the house that his ministers were not guilty and challenged the opposition to produce substantial proof, Vikhe-Patil called the CM a liar. He has demanded before the Speaker that Fadnavis be tried for a breach of privilege for suppressing facts and misleading the house. The Congress has also threatened to take a legal course in all corruption cases — a suggestion that former CM Prithviraj Chavan has been asking it to follow through on if it wants to nail the BJP government. Congress sources said its Mumbai unit chief, Sanjay Nirupam, would make yet another explosive charge against the government on Tuesday morning, which then would be raised in the legislature by his party colleagues.
The BJP is not sitting idle. Last week, it held indoor interactions at a recreation hall near YC Chavan Centre, at which ministers and legislators were warned against complacency. Fadnavis and senior party functionaries addressed the gathering. The regimen was so strict that latecomers were not allowed inside and then named in full view at the next day’s session for breaching discipline.
The effect of the interaction showed on Friday when a section of BJP legislators took on a hostile Sena minister and the angry opposition over demanding a separate statehood for Vidarbha. The same issue rocked the upper house as well. Both the houses were adjourned for the day.
If one goes by the trend, the remaining days of the session till August 5 should be difficult for the opposition to function against the government.
Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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