The Opposition line-up at the Congress-sponsored celebrations to mark Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary may not immediately lead to a re-alignment of political forces, but it has set the stage for issue-based floor coordination in Parliament that commences next week.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s comment — after she attended the Nehru conference on Monday —- that she’s willing to join a coalition at the Centre that includes her arch rivals, the Left Parties, if the Congress takes the initiative to form the group triggered speculation about a coming together of anti-BJP forces.
However, the other parties that attended the conference did not speak in one voice on the nature of Opposition cooperation.
“Too much is being read into the attendance of our leaders,” CPI (M) Lok Sabha MP Mohammad Salim told The Hindu . “We believe in Nehru’s socialism and we relate to his views on international relations. Indeed, it’s the Congress that has forgotten him.”
Pressed on whether the Left will cooperate with other Opposition parties in Parliament, he said, “There can be nothing pre-planned. It will depend on the evolving issues, the emergent situation, and on how the government tries to push its agenda.”
Nationalist Congress Party’s D.P. Tripathi — who too attended the two-day conference — was more forthcoming. The NCP attended the Congress celebrations, he said, because of its belief in the Nehruvian world view, but “the relationship can develop: all secular parties can sit together and chart a common course.”
What about the NCP’s support to the BJP government in Maharashtra? Playing it down, Mr. Tripathi said, “The NCP didn’t vote for the BJP. We retain our independence — it (abstention) was only to ensure a stable government and avoid elections.” The NCP, he said, appreciated Ms. Banerjee’s willingness to cooperate with the Left at the national level. “We can start with issue-based floor coordination and the cooperation can go further.” Congress’s deputy chief whip in the Lok Sabha K.C. Venugopal pointed out that his party had sought the cooperation of other Opposition parties in the budget session, and “we will take this further in the coming winter session”.
