The manner in which the Narendra Modi government has handled the recent protests by the Congress-led INDIA bloc and the Cockroach Janta Party is a classic case of different strokes for different folks. While the Amit Shah-led home ministry made elaborate arrangements to crush the CJP leaders and their supporters demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, it was instructed to take a far more lenient view of the demonstrations organised by the Opposition for the same purpose. For instance, the INDIA bloc march to the Supreme Court was allowed to proceed without a hitch while the sit-in by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi at Akashvani Bhawan, insisting on an appointment with the CEC, went on for the whole day though they could have easily been evicted much earlier. And now the November 1 INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Grounds has also been given the official go-ahead.
In contrast, the CJP leaders were detained on flimsy grounds. The benign explanation offered here was that the Congress and other Opposition parties are political players and, therefore, have to be treated differently. The CJP, in the government’s view, is a disruptive force which has to be put down. But the reality is that the government fears the CJP’s popularity with Gen Z and its ability to influence public opinion. On the other hand, the Centre’s assessment is that Rahul Gandhi does not have the same credibility as the CJP despite his best efforts to reach out to the youth. Consequently, it can afford to be generous to the Congress.
There was a big buzz in Kolkata that Prime Minister Modi would be visiting the city for the pujo celebrations, especially since it was the first major cultural event being held after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s historic win in the Assembly polls. As it happened, it was not Mr Modi but Union home minister Amit Shah who made it for the pujo but his visit was marred by the stampede at a pandal in which 19 persons died. One of the theories doing the rounds in Kolkata is that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit did not want the Prime Minister to become the focus of anti-Modi protests over the Election Commission’s controversial special intensive revision of the electoral rolls. There was a possibility the visit could lead to the consolidation of arch rivals, the Left parties, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress and some breakaway factions of the TMC which are fragile as its members are still trying to find their footing. Though the Assembly elections are long over, the controversy over the SIR exercise has not died down and remains a potent issue given Kolkata’s reputation as a nerve centre of protests.
The Modi government has again initiated discussions on the passage of the controversial delimitation bill which was defeated in the Lok Sabha earlier this year as the ruling dispensation did not have the required two-thirds majority for its passage. Back-channel discussions with the DMK, the Biju Janata Dal and other Opposition parties outside the INDIA bloc are said to be underway. These parties are being promised that the bill will provide for a 50 per cent increase in seats which, the Centre believes, should allay fears that the southern states will lose out if population is used as a criterion for the reconfiguration of constituencies. The Congress, which wants a freeze on the current number of Lok Sabha seats, is also reaching out to its partners in the INDIA bloc to firm up its opposition to the Bill. Since it has fallen out with the DMK, the Left parties have been asked to convince former Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin to continue with his opposition to the Bill. Similarly, Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee is to speak to former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik to seek his assurance that his party will oppose the bill whenever it is debated next in Parliament. The Congress proposal to its allies is that they push for an increase in the strength of state Assemblies since it is MLAs who are directly involved in dealing with local problems of the electorate.
There is a fresh twist to the ongoing factional battle in Haryana Congress. This follows a video showing Rohtak Congress Lok Sabha MP Deepender Hooda and Rahul Gandhi atop a truck during the recent Opposition march to the Supreme Court demanding the removal of the chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In the video, Mr Hooda is seen getting off the truck following a brief conversation with Rahul Gandhi. Mr Hooda’s detractors in the party got an opportunity to point out that the Haryana MP had been publicly humiliated and that this latest incident showed that the Gandhis had lost trust in the Rohtak MP. Mr Hooda has since clarified that he was not told to get off the truck but was instead asked by Rahul Gandhi to manage the crowd of protesters. However, there are few takers for Mr Hooda’s explanation as his opponents in the party’s state unit are using the video clip to revive their rivalry.
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