Congress is set to lock horns with govt over the coveted position of the Leader of Opposition in the upcoming Budget Session
Confrontation between the Congress and the government may escalate in the coming Budget Session of Parliament on the issue of Leader of the Opposition’s post. The Congress on Sunday said it has a “natural claim” to the post and any attempt to scuttle it can only be termed “autocratic”.
This is at a time when the government is refusing to concede to the Congress’ demand on the grounds that the latter lacks the requisite numbers for the post. The government is also reluctant to offer the post of deputy speaker in the Lok Sabha to the main Opposition.
The Congress has not been able to unite the non-NDA parties in the Lok Sabha so far. The stand of the Left parties (11), Samajwadi Party (5), JD-S (2) and the JD-U (2) is unclear but they cannot back the BJP-led NDA. The TRS (11) and the YSR Congress (9) are yet to reveal their strategy. This means a bloc of these 40 MPs, if it works with the Congress (44), NCP (6), RJD (4), IUML (2), JMM (2), Kerala Congress-M (1), AIMEIM (1), will consist of 100 members in the Lower House.
The AIADMK (37), the Trinamul Congress (34) and the BJD (20) are unlikely to work together for the simple reason that the AIADMK and the BJD have become soft on the Modi government and would be more interested in issues related to Tamil Nadu and Orissa. The government managers would certainly keep them in good humour. But the Trinamul Congress cannot be friendly with the BJP as it could send out the wrong signal to the minorities in West Bengal. Besides, its next political fight could be with the BJP if the Left and the Congress fails to recover from the electoral losses.