On the third day of the 18th Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioned the unity of the Opposition, citing everything from support for the emergency resolution to the loss in the Speaker’s race.
Amit Malviya, BJP leader, wrote on X: “Opposition unity is a myth…Several parties in the I.N.D.I Alliance supported the resolution on Emergency, while Congress tried to hide its face. There was also no unanimity in the Opposition over seeking a voice vote or division during Speaker’s election. Third Time Fail Rahul Gandhi fails on his first day as Leader of Opposition. Losing Speaker election was the crown.”
Shehzad Poonawala of the BJP even expressed gratitude to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Samajwadi Party (SP), and Trinamool Congress (TMC) for their contributions. He posted on X, “Wow so SP, DMK, TMC MPs moved away from Congress when it opposed the Resolution to condemn Emergency! There goes INDI alliance…”
After ten years, the Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was appointed leader of the opposition, as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lacks a simple majority.
The TMC, the third-largest opposition party, openly expressed its disapproval of the Congress’s decision to select a candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives without first consulting them, marking the first indication of discord within the INDIA alliance on Tuesday. Images of an absorbed Rahul Gandhi and TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee engaging in a lively debate on the house floor gave credence to rumours as information from the TMC camp began to trickle in.
Banerjee quickly cleared the air, which has angered the TMC. “We weren’t approached or had a conversation about this. Regretfully, Banerjee made this decision alone, speaking to media outside the Parliament.
The impasse was broken, though, by a conversation between Banerjee and Gandhi and TMC parliamentary leaders. This allowed the TMC to send its two senior leaders, Kalyan Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, to the meeting that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called on Tuesday night.
The majority of opposition parties couldn’t agree on Wednesday either over whether to hold a voice vote or look for a split in the Speaker’s election. There was confusion because the opposition had many voices.
After the TMC expressed its desire for a voice vote, it is understood that the INDIA bloc chose to have a voice vote rather than press for a division. The delegates of the DMK and SP believed that it is crucial to follow the TMC’s wishes since the opposition has to seem united. Congress sources, however, indicate that they were ready to pursue a split of the votes in the race in which K Suresh, an eight-term Congress MP, was fielded.
The Congress confirmed that it did not seek division, but attributed the reason to be different. “I am telling you formally, we didn’t ask for division of votes…We didn’t ask for it because we found it appropriate that there be a consensus on the first day, that there be an atmosphere of consensus on the first day. This was a constructive step from our end. We could have asked for division (of votes),” said Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh.
To the BJP’s satisfaction and the Congress’ dismay, the SP and TMC, meanwhile, backed the resolution against the Emergency.
In addition to introducing a resolution on the Emergency—a touchy subject for the Congress at a time when party leaders are flashing copies of the Indian Constitution—Speaker Om Birla also called for a two-minute silence in the House to remember the “dark days” of the Emergency.
“June 25, 1975, will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India. On this day, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in the country and attacked the Constitution made by Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Birla said.
Congress MPs objected to this, but the others said nothing. However, a number of MPs on the Treasury Bench responded to them by yelling, “Shame! Shame!”
Overall, even in a downsized third term, the opposition’s start did not appear to be very auspicious.
