Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand a farm loan waiver— the first since the Congress vice-president accused him of “personal corruption” — split the Opposition as the winter session of Parliament came to a close .
The Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Left, the DMK and the Nationalist Congress Party didn’t join the Congress-led delegation that met President Pranab Mukherjee to submit a memorandum, accusing the government of not allowing them to discuss its decision to recall 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in Parliament.
The Congress, along with 15 opposition parties, stalled proceedings in Parliament for most of the month-long session, demanding that the PM be present during the debate on demonetisation and reply to it. In the Lok Sabha, they wanted the debate under rules that entail voting, only to relent last week.
The Trinamool Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Janata Dal (United), and the All India United Democratic Front were part of the delegation that went to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Sources said a number of opposition parties decided to drop out at the last moment as they were not happy with Rahul Gandhi’s “unilateral decision” to meet the PM when they had stood with the Congress in stalling proceedings in Parliament.
“You cannot stall Parliament for a month demanding the PM’s presence and then go to meet the PM even before it is adjourned sine die. You didn’t find it proper to consult us,” said an NCP leader.
Congress leaders, however, claimed that the party was campaigning in UP, Punjab and other states over farm loan waiver and so there was nothing wrong in going to the PM with this demand.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, “From day 1, we have been against going to the President but for the sake of opposition unity, we didn’t oppose. We want to go to the people.
The President cannot help much in this issue.” Samajwadi Party’s Kiranmay Nanda offered a similar explanation, saying that his party would take it to the people in UP elections.
