How BJP's volte-face raises hope for Winter session
The first day of Parliament's winter session on November 26, which coincided with the first Constitution Day, started with a confrontationist approach. It was clear that the dust and storm of rancour raised during the Bihar Assembly elections had yet to settle down. One got the impression that the winter session will see a repeat of monsoon session which was a near total washout. The feeling got stronger when home minister Rajnath Singh raked up the addition of "socialist" and "secular" words in the Preamble to the Constitution. What Singh said may have been totally unwarranted but the situation worsened when leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge saw through Singh's attempt to divide the House and broached the controversial "you Aryans" versus "us Dravidians" theory to further vitiate the atmosphere. Congress president Sonia Gandhi took on the BJP indirectly by saying that those who did not contribute to the framing of Constitution were now claiming to be its guardians.
However, Day 2 was a contrast to the opening day and presented some hope of a smooth session and passage of the crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, and these are the four reasons why:
1. PM's "chai pe charcha" with Manmohan and Sonia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited his predecessor Manmohan Singh and Sonia for tea on November 27 evening to create an atmosphere conducive to the passage of the blocked GST Bill. This is first outreach by the PM to the main opposition party ever since he came to power after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Modi was being criticised for ignoring the Opposition and not reaching out to them. In the past, the BJP had not shown any magnanimity towards the Opposition. Instead, it had been returning fire at them. This left little scope for the Opposition to recalibrate their stand and appear accommodative to the concerns of the treasury benches. Manmohan as PM would invite senior BJP leaders like LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj (the then leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha), Jaitley (the then leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha) and others at the prime minister's official residence at 7, Racecourse Road to break deadlock in Parliament. Albeit a bit belated, Modi has apparently realised the virtues of reaching out to the Opposition. Hopefully, this may help cool down the Opposition's tempers and contribute to a smooth running of Parliament.
2. Praising Nehru
The Congress has often accused the BJP of undermining the contribution of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the country's development and pitching him against former home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. In fact, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, during debate on Constitution on November 27, questioned the BJP for not mentioning Nehru's contribution to the Constitution. However, Modi, during his reply to the debate on Constitution, praised Nehru. Narrating an anecdote, he said socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia once presented facts and figures to prove that Nehru's policies were wrong. Lauding Nehru's virtues, Modi said the first prime minister, instead of feeling offended, admitted to Lohia that the latter's statistics could not be refuted. "Nehru rose above politics which showed his greatness," Modi said. A volte-face indeed.
3. Conciliatory approach
Modi reiterated what he had said from the ramparts of Red Fort on Independence Day - that all previous governments had contributed to the growth and development of the country. It was a clear-cut case of Modi extending olive branch to not only the main opposition party but also the others which were part of government at some point or the other. He did not seek to run any party down. By saying that he recognised the positive role of all in building the nation, he conveyed the message that he sought everyone's support and wished to take all parties along. A concilatory approach indeed which is sure to soothe the feelings of all the opposition parties.
4. From confrontation to consensus
The prime minister sought to unite the MPs cutting across party lines by saying that on several occasions they had put restrain on themselves. He sought to touch a sensitive cord of all MPs when he said they agreed to follow the rules implemented by the Election Commission and declare the criminal cases registered against them or their property details. He said Parliament also accepted Supreme Court's ruling debarring convicted people from contesting despite the fact that it could have framed a law contrary to it. "If someone has committed a mistake and was found guilty, he agreed not to contest," said the PM, hinting at RJD supremo Lalu Yadav's conviction and how Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi opposed UPA government's bid to bypass Supreme Court order by framing a law. In a way, he showered praise on both Lalu and Rahul, who were engaged in a series of acrimonious debates during the campaigning for Bihar elections.
The PM has reached out to the Opposition. Now, the ball is in the court of the latter's court whether to accept his olive branch or reject it. The developments from November 30, when Parliament will meet again, will indicate which way the discourse turns.