Prime Minister Modi In his speech before the session, he set the stage for an aggressive take on the government by specifically referring to the “dark days of the Emergency”. The Congress led the opposition parties in waving copies of the Constitution.
During the swearing-in ceremony in the morning, Prime Minister Modi also reached out to the opposition and stressed the need for consensus to run the country. He said, “To run the government we need a majority, but to run the country we need consensus.” The Prime Minister said that it is the substance, not the slogans, that is important.
However, in a change, this is not expected to be a one-sided shootout.
Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, who held a copy of the Constitution during PM Modi’s swearing-in, demanded that the government remove ten irregularities that have taken place in the 15 days since the Modi-led NDA government returned to power. Members of the India Block also took out a march carrying copies of the Constitution and shouted slogans like “Samvidhan amar rahe”, “Hum Samvidhan bachayenge” and “Save our democracy”.
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For the first time, Prime Minister Modi is facing a vocal opposition with huge numbers in the House, whereas earlier he had created a record of defeating the opposition by leading the BJP to victory with huge numbers.
“PM Modi said he is missing a good opposition. He should be prepared for it this term,” wrote ram madhavA senior RSS functionary and former BJP general secretary said this in an article published in the Indian Express.
Arguing that the prime minister can successfully run a coalition government for a full term, he wrote, “The challenge will not come from managing the coalition but from the Opposition coming into the House with the mindset that the BJP does not have the mandate to rule.”
Despite misgivings from the BJP and the prime minister, who in his final motion of thanks to the president before the elections claimed that the Congress would “sit in the gallery” for the 18th Lok Sabha, the grand old party has nearly doubled its numbers and with Priyanka Gandhi winning the Wayanad bypoll, has scored a century. And for the first time in the Modi years, the Congress has regained the post of leader of the opposition in the House.
While this does not take away from the significant achievement of the BJP in emerging as the single largest party, returning to power for the third time and retaining a nearly identical vote share, what is surprising is that the Congress-led opposition has consolidated its tally in the House to 223, while the BJP’s tally has fallen from 303 to 240.
Analysts say this means the opposition will have a much stronger voice on important bills, unlike last time when the ruling BJP was unable to get bills passed due to its huge numbers and at times opposition members were not even present in the House for debate.
Not ready to accept anything without a fight
While the BJP has given the message that everything is normal by indicating the continuation of the same cabinet, the Congress has also not shied away from sending a counter message.
This is a departure from the earlier indication from the opposition that the BJP has appointed Bhartruhari Mahtab as the temporary pro tem speaker. The opposition opposed Mahtab’s appointment and indicated that it is not ready to accept anything without a fight.
The opposition criticised the appointment of seven-term member Mahtab as pro tem speaker in place of eight-term Congress member Kodikunnil Suresh to prevent the BJP-led NDA government from gaining early dominance. The Congress-led opposition claimed that the decision violated the tradition according to which the most senior MP should be chosen for the post. In protest, three India Block members included in the supporting panel threatened to withdraw their names.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of bias against Dalits and questioned why Karnataka MP Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi, a seven-time MP, was ignored for the post of pro tem speaker.
Showing renewed vigour in its stance and attitude, the Opposition plans to challenge the government on issues such as the exam leak controversy, railway security lapses, demand for a joint parliamentary probe into the alleged “manipulation of stock market through fake exit polls”, the Agneepath army recruitment scheme and the ongoing unrest in Manipur.
The first two days of the session are expected to be peaceful as newly elected MPs take oath, but tensions could escalate during the speaker’s election on Wednesday if the opposition fields its own candidate against an unacceptable government nominee.
In a rare initiative, the BJP’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister… Kiren Rijiju Recently he met Kharge at his residence to build opposition consensus for the speaker, who will likely be from the BJP.
The most tension is seen during the discussion on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, where the opposition aims to challenge the government.
