Wednesday, July 19, 2023

All eyes on Monsoon session : Bengaluru bash over, questions loom large on Congress-Left stance against Mamata's violence


(A police complaint in Delhi says 26 opposition parties including the Congress, have exploited the name 'India' for their political advantage to mislead voters and engaging in activities that could compromise the integrity of the electoral process.)



 Bengaluru bash over, now questions loom large on Congress-Left stance against Mamata Banerjee's reign of violence. Can there be effective floor coordination among I.N.D.I.A constituents.




There will be more issues and a few complex questions. 


Earlier this year, during campaigning in the Meghalaya polls, Rahul Gandhi had told a rally in Shillong:  "You know the scams, the Saradha scam that has taken place. You are aware of their tradition. They (TMC) came to Goa and spent huge amounts of money in Goa. The idea was to help the BJP." 

This is exactly the idea in Meghalaya, he had said, the Trinamool's plan is only to ensure that the BJP is strengthened in Meghalaya and wins. 


Rahul had also said, “You know the history of the Trinamool You know the violence that takes place in West Bengal".




Do not blame Rahul Gandhi for all that. Former Congress chief minister Mukul Sangma had led a revolt and as many as 12 of the 17 Congress MLAs defected to the Trinammol Congress.


Mamata and her colleagues started dreaming of forming next government in Meghaya and obviously Congress was unnerved. 


There are numerous such contradictions in the Opposition camp.  Reportedly Lalu Prasad of RJD and Nitish Kumar of JD-U (which was part of NDA till recently) are not happy for being sidelined in Bengaluru show. JD-U leaders have expressed apprehensions/displeasure that the Congress rather used Bengaluru show to project Malikkarjun Kharge as a 'bigger than his real' image kind leader in his local turf.  


Moreover,  Congress and other parties have shown the manner Mamata Banerjee-led outfit behaved even in 2022 during Vice Presidential polls.


In August 2022, Mamata declined to 'play second fiddle' to the Congress and had refused to rally behind the Opposition’s V-P candidate Margaret Alva.

This was after the Opposition led by Congress, had jointly backed Trinamool leader Yashwant Sinha as their Presidential candidate. TMC has Ms Alva's name was cleared by Congress unilaterally. 


In short Mamata Banerjee is champion of U-turns. She stuck to BJP when it suited her, she dumped NDA more than once and has the record deserting the Vajpayee-led alliance when George Fernandes and former BJP Chief Bangaru Laxman came under the cloud of Tehelka tapes scandal. 


Her party colleagues are already giving the impression that as the Congress is not keen for PM-post after 2024 polls, their leader can easily fill the gap.  








A police complaint has been registered at Delhi’s Barakhamba Police Station against 26 opposition parties, accusing them of improper use of the name of ‘India’. 


The complaint is filed by 26-year-old Avinish Mishra, a resident of Delhi, and says the 26 opposition parties including the Congress, Trinamool and DMK among others, have been exploiting the name of India for their political advantage. 


How will West Bengal Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury function/conduct himself in Lok Sabha during the session is another complex issue.  He is a bitter critic of Mamata Banerjee but he was 'restrained' from attacking Mamata Banerjee or her government.


West Bengal witnessed widespread violence and mayhem during the panchayat polls in which over 50 people were killed. The local Congress and CPI(M) leaders cannot be too happy with Bengaluru bash. The BJP and other parties in the state have targeted the TMC government for “unleashing a reign of terror”. 



Left to them the Congress and the Left alliance could make some key penetration and win over Minority/Muslim voters from Trinamool. The violence has hit Congress and the communists too. 



But Sitaram Yechury helplessly along with CPI leader D Raja attended the meet and also approved the 'name' of the coalition knowing pretty well that Trinamool leadership has played a part in coming out with such an idea.  


Mamata Banerjee will be more than keen to use her rapport with Rahul and Sonia to stem loss of support she suffered among the minority vote base. 





 

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