4

Jul

Unable to see new reality   Modi Treads path of  confrontation

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Dr Satish Misra    

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New Delhi, 4 July 2024

From what transpired during the inaugural session after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha in the two houses and the tone and tenor of the spoken content in the lower and upper house makes it more than obvious that the Modi government has opted for a confrontationist path to deal with the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

 

Aggression, attack, and arrogance are the defining attributes of the inaugural session of Parliament in which the two presiding officers namely the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar played on the side of the ruling NDA rather than being arbiters or neutral referees as expected from them constitutionally.     

 

The parliamentary session ended on 3 July on a sour note with INDIA bloc parties, led by the Congress, staging a walkout of the Rajya Sabha after Leader of the Opposition Malikarjun Kharge was not allowed to intervene during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech.

Article at a Glance
The inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the 264th session of the Rajya Sabha ended on a confrontational note between the Modi government and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) Opposition bloc. The two presiding officers, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar, were accused of being biased towards the ruling NDA instead of being neutral. The session ended with the INDIA bloc parties, led by the Congress, staging a walkout of the Rajya Sabha after Leader of the Opposition Malikarjun Kharge was not allowed to intervene during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech.
The Prime Minister's speech was marked by aggression, attack, and arrogance, with personal jabs at Rahul Gandhi, who had delivered a fiery speech the previous day, targeting the Modi government for various issues. Modi's words drew a sharp response from the Congress and its allies, who accused him of having no answer to the many questions on burning issues such as the NEET row. The Prime Minister's behavior and conduct in the two Houses of Parliament have displayed a tendency that they are unable to change, with continued attacks on the Opposition, starting with the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.
The real world around them has moved on, and both the BJP and the INDIA combine have a long distance to cover. It is here a young and dynamic Rahul Gandhi can make or break a difference! The country seems set to witness a turbulent and stormy parliamentary session this year and thereafter until people decide to settle their scores with a party and the government that is determined to push the Opposition to the margins.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned while the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on 2 July after the Prime Minister replied to the motion of thanks to the President Droupdi Murmu’s address to the two houses of Parliament which was least expected from the executive head of the biggest democracy of the world.  

 

Cooperation, negotiation, reconciliation, and spirit of give and take between the treasury and Opposition benches seem to have been given a goodbye by the Modi government which is not ready to take the Opposition on board but wants to push it into submission. Emboldened by the people’s mandate, the Opposition has enough numbers to make the government listen to its suggestions, submissions, and people’s woes and pains and is not ready to take the ruling party’s diktats lying down.       

 

The inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha commenced on 24 June and ended on 2 July while the 264 session of the Rajya Sabha started on 27 June and ended on 3 July.

 

Two speeches of the two leaders opposing each other Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi marked their respective differences in politics, philosophy, and ideology. The Prime Minister combined personal with his politics in his first speech after assuming charge the third time and went on to mock Gandhi who had delivered a fiery speech the previous day in which he had targeted the Modi government for failing Manipur, introducing Agnipath scheme, engineering division, using religion to spread hate and fear.   

 

Modi's infantilizing jabs at Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha were unprecedented and did not behoove the position that he holds. As expected, Modi’s words drew a sharp response from the Congress and its allies. The Opposition has said the Prime Minister resorted to such attacks because he has no answer to the many questions on burning issues such as the NEET row.

 

Addressing the Lok Sabha amid the Opposition's slogans, the Prime Minister responded to Gandhi's allegations that the Centre had used probe agencies to target him.

 

Laments of 'balak buddhi' went on. 'I have been beaten'. A new drama was rolled out to gain sympathy. The fact is he is on bail in a corruption case of thousands of crore of rupees, was convicted for calling an OBC community thief, and had to tender an apology before the Supreme Court for speaking lies," he said.

 

"This 'balak buddhi' (childish mind) at times tries to hug someone in the House and sometimes winks," the Prime Minister said. He was referring to the 2018 episode in which Mr Gandhi had walked across the treasury benches and hugged Prime Minister Modi.

 

The Prime Minister used Gangs of Wasseypur's popular dialogue, 'Tumse na ho payega', to mock Mr. Gandhi and said the country was telling him the Congress leader that he is 'not up to it'.

 

Hitting back, the Congress said 140 crore Indians had told the Narendra Modi government 'tumse na ho payega' in this election.

 

In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also slammed the Prime Minister for calling the main Opposition party "parasite" and said he had used the term for protesting farmers too.

 

"The way you mentioned 'Tumse Na Ho Payega' in your speech of 2 hours and 24 minutes, 140 crore Indians said the same thing to your government in this election," he said. "Modi ji, you have insulted the mandate. Understand the sentiments of the people, give up dictatorship!" the Congress chief said.

 

Responding to the Prime Minister's 'parasite' jab, the Congress chief said he had used the same word to refer to the farmers during their 2020-21 protest.

 

"You insulted the year-long struggle of the farmers for their rights. In front of that, your dictatorial government had to bow down and withdraw the three anti-farmer black laws.

 

"Today you have used the same word for the Congress party. This is not an abuse of the Congress party. It is a matter of pride for us to sacrifice our lives for nation-building along with the farmers," Kharge said.

 

Congress's ally Samajwadi Party, too, hit back at the Prime Minister for his "balak buddhi" jab at Rahul Gandhi. "All these things are said so that no one asks questions on NEET. Those saying Balak buddhi are Balak (children) themselves because when people have chosen someone, such comments should not be made. There are balak in the government who are still not able to understand the country's problems," Kannauj MP and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has said.

 

The walkout in the Upper House followed the Prime Minister's swipe at former UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. "These people are used to running the government on autopilot and remote pilot. They don't believe in working, they just know how to wait," he said, triggering loud protests from the Opposition.

 

Opposition MPs led by Kharge requested Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdedp Dhankhar for permission to intervene, but the Chair responded that their conduct was "inappropriate".

 

The country seems set to witness a turbulent and stormy parliamentary session this year and thereafter until people decide to settle their scores with a party and the government that is determined to push the Opposition to the margins.

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