A newly assertive Congress, a suddenly combative Biju Janata Dal and increased cooperation between rivals Trinamool Congress and the Left have taken opposition unity to an entirely new plane in the Budget Session.
Less than two weeks into the present session, it’s clear the solidarity is qualitatively different from that in the Winter Session, when Parliament saw the opposition deploying its superior numbers in the Rajya Sabha to hold the BJP to account for the communal statements of its members. The Trinamool, the Janata Dal (U) and those from the Left realised that if they were to get the Congress — the largest party in the Rajya Sabha — on board, they would have to focus on issues other than economic reforms, on which the opposition is divided.
But when the Congress abstained from voting on the Insurance Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, it marked a change in tactics by the Grand Old Party.
