Time to roast BJP over SCS; YCP a sore loser

The monsoon session of Parliament promises to be a session of discussion and debate, not disruption. It now remains to be seen how effectively the opposition parties in Lok Sabha will utilise the time and corner the government. They must beware Modi can spin a magic with his words and tear them apart, and hence the need for them to finetune strategies and put up a concerted attack on the government on various issues. 

All parties have already gone into election mode and each would aim at maximum mileage to swing votes. While TDP would highlight the failure of Centre to implement the AP State Reorganisation Act 2014, other parties will focus more on lynchings, atrocities against women and dalits and dilution of a law meant for Scheduled Castes. The no confidence motion has given a sort of clarity on who stands on which side of the fence. While over dozen parties have not only supported TDP’s no confidence and also gave separate notices, parties like TRS and Anna DMK are staying clear of them. 

By accepting the no trust motion, the Centre has pushed the ball into the court of AP which needs to establish how both the Congress and the BJP went back on their promises and did injustice to the state. It needs to explain how the bill was hastily passed without giving an opportunity to all stakeholders. Only former minister S Jaipal Reddy spoke and leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj was given a chance. Thereafter, the bill was treated as passed. 

The Lok Sabha did not even consider the objections that were raised in the united AP Assembly. A lot depends on how the TDP succeeds in establishing its case that both national parties let down the Andhra people. In this context, the TDP stand was earlier backed by none other than PM candidate Modi who said the bill was passed, violating all rules and procedures. 

The onus is on TDP MPs to mount attack such a way that the Centre would find it difficult to counter charges over its failure to coming to the aid of the state during last four years. On their success depends the import of the reason for tabling the motion in the first place. No doubt, Congress will try to make capital by reiterating promise of Special Status should it be voted to power at the Centre. 

The loser in the battle, however, will be YSRCP as it will now find it more difficult to establish that it is really fighting for in the interests of state. If it had any effective strategy, it should not have got its MPs’ resignations accepted, and thus could have turned the situation to its advantage. They could have told the BJP that it slayed it for political reasons alone, and BJP would not have minded it. But, both parties erred on this count. However, one thing is clear Chandrababu Naidu has emerged as the rallying point for all anti-BJP parties. But, then politics is a dynamic situation and foes can once again turn friends, if the situation so demands.