INDIA bloc, not Constitution, is facing ‘khatra’

There is no ‘khatra’ to the Constitution, but, yes, the bloc INDIA is facing serious ‘khatra!’

The onset of the winter session of Parliament was expected to be tumultuous. There was also an expectation that the Opposition, invigorated with its increased numbers in Lok Sabha, would get its act together and take on the BJP unitedly. But, instead, cracks have started appearing among the alliance partners. Even on issues like Sambhal, Samajwadi party and Congress differed. Questions were raised why Rahul as the LoP did not lead the discussion on the riots there and why he, even without consulting SP, wanted to go to Sambhal.

Will Priyanka Gandhi be just following Rahul or will she take an independent stand on issues and give a new direction to the party in Parliament? What about the opposition allegations of Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra being funded by about 150 organisations? Will Congress, which wants the arrest of Adani and a probe, demand at least probe into the charges made by BJP leaders and Maharashtra CM Devendra Phadnavis?

While these questions need to be answered, a loud buzz has been created in the political circles as TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that she was hurt to see cracks in the opposition alliance and its poor performance in elections. She had also opposed ruckus in Parliament and now she went to the extent of saying that she was ready to lead the alliance from West Bengal.

Mamata felt that the biggest problem with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was that there was no inclusiveness in the opposition platform. “If given the opportunity, I would ensure its smooth functioning. I don’t want to go outside West Bengal, but I can run it from here,” she said.

Her comments assume greater importance as the differences within the alliance came to fore following the setbacks in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and, very recently, in Maharashtra.

Samajwadi Party has announced its exit from the alliance as it is unhappy with Uddhav Sena remarks on Babri demolition. It may be recalled the Uddhav Sena’s flip-flop before Maharashtra elections on many issues cost them dearly in the Assembly elections. People felt that they, too, were following the policy of appeasement like Congress.

While Mamata’s statement clearly indicates the divide in the alliance, the Congress party, which is still stuck with issues like ‘Constitution khatre me hai’ and Adani, feels that there is no greater leader to lead the alliance than Rahul Gandhi. They say there should not be any misconception about this. This leaves one wondering whether the misconception is among Congress or in other alliance partners.

Even octogenarian leaders like Sharad Pawar seem to be coming out with all misconceptions after the Maharashtra election results. He, too, is of the view that Mamata would be a better leader to keep the flock together. With several key leaders expressing similar views, questions are being raised over the future of the Opposition group. Some say, “I think this means that Pawar Sahab wants to say that Rahul Gandhi’s leadership is not capable, and Congress can’t lead now.”

The Uddhav Thackeray group openly supported Mamata’s statement and said Shiv Sena and Arvind Kejriwal were of the view that they should hold talks with Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata soon. “Mamata Didi is very close to us. She is a good leader,” added Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav also seems to be of the view that the alliance is facing trouble. Well, that is why it is said politics is a dynamic situation. The only problem is some parties like Congress, BRS and YSRCP fail to realise this fact.