Chill sets in opposition as session begins

The winter session of Parliament started off on Monday with opposition parties giving a cold shoulder to each other. Despite several parties raising similar issues, they couldn't come on one platform. Congress had called a meeting of opposition parties on Monday morning to discuss Parliament floor strategy.

Congress MPs Mallikarjun Kharge, Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh had been reaching out to leaders from all opposition parties to bring them on one platform. Trinamool Congress, which used to be part of such meetings had declared on Sunday that it won't attend the meeting. Similarly, AAP also skipped it this time. SP and BSP were also absent, with UP polls round the corner. DMK, NCP, RJD, CPM and six smaller parties attended the meet.

"It's not about attending a meeting but whether parties are united on issues or not. The entire opposition is on the same page when it comes to securing MSP guarantee for farmers. We all wanted a debate on the repeal of farm laws," AAP MP Sanjay Singh told ET.


The protest at the Gandhi statue by the opposition, before the session began, was also divided. First Congress leaders protested with a banner demanding repeal of farm laws. Trinamool leaders waited for the Congress protest to end and then they protested demanding discussion on repeal of farm bills. "Congress has its own agenda. We are a national party and we have our own agenda," Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee told ET. "There are many times when we protest first, and Congress leaders follow us. In the business advisory committee meeting on Monday, we were more vocal and raised the issues."