Monsoon Breather for Sushma Swaraj? Congress fails to rally support to corner government

NEW DELHI: More than the BJP’s projection of a united house rallying behind Sushma Swaraj, a disjointed opposition is likely to help the Modi government during the monsoon session of Parliament, when the Congress is expected to ratchet up the Lalit Modi issue.

The grand old party may not be able to back down after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi jumped into the controversy and demanded the resignation of Swaraj. Unlike the case of amendments to the land acquisition law, where Congress president Sonia Gandhi took the lead in marshalling opposition ranks early this year, the party appears to have failed to rally support to corner the government on the Lalit Modi issue. While the Congress was prompt to demand her resignation, other opposition parties have refrained from raising the pitch. There are chinks within the Janata Parivar. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav called for Swaraj to quit on Tuesday.

However, Ram Gopal Yadav of SP, which is led by Janata Parivar patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, dismissed the resignation demands. Even RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar don’t appear to be on the same page. “Sushma Swaraj should not be pestered over the issue,” Prasad said in Patna on Tuesday. Kumar has been relatively less sympathetic, nudging the PM to act tough on this issue.

CPM has refrained from demanding an outright resignation. NCP has also not demanded her resignation. The most vociferous opposition party in Parliament, the Trinamool Congress, has avoided wading into the controversy. It’s silence may prove to be the biggest loss for the opposition as the lung capacity of its members over the past year virtually made it the de-facto opposition party in the Lok Sabha.