With friction between some States and the Centre on the rise, Opposition parties are likely to have a joint meeting soon to chalk out a strategy. The last such meeting was in May 2020, when 22 parties met virtually, 50 days into the lockdown .
Talks are on and so far no date has been picked. In the last few days, four Chief Ministers -- Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan , Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren , Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik and A.P.'s Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy have demanded rationalisation of the vaccine policy, demanding centralisation of the procurement and universally free vaccines.
In his letter to his counterparts, the A.P. CM said that the situation has transformed into “centre vs State”. “It is my request that as Chief Ministers, we speak in a single voice and urge the Government of India to take charge and responsibility of the vaccination drive, the way it was happening in the early part of the year,” Mr. Reddy wrote.
The Supreme Court’s observations on Wednesday, calling the Centre’s paid COVID-19 vaccination policy for the 18-44 age group “arbitrary” and “irrational” , has added ammunition to the Opposition efforts to corner the Union government.
On a separate front, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is engaged in a head-on confrontation with the Centre over its decision to attach former State Chief Secretary Alapan Bandhopadhyay. In a four- page letter to the Prime Minister, she wrote: “I sincerely hope that you do not want to damage the federal amity”. Her office made it a point to send a copy of the letter to all the Opposition leaders.
The Congress Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel respectively, are protesting against the non- inclusion of the Congress ruled States in the eight-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to discuss the GST waiver on materials to fight the pandemic.
“There are enough issues that need a joint deliberation and action. Senior Party leaders from all sides are in constant touch. For now, we are waiting for the report of the GOM on GST, we will take a call on when to meet once the report is submitted,” a senior opposition leader said.
Though both Mr. Patnaik and Mr. Reddy have questioned the Centre's vaccination policy it remains to be seen if they will join hands with rest of the Opposition. Both Mr. Patnaik’s BJD and Mr. Reddy’s YSR Congress have maintained distance from the Opposition, and has often found themselves on the same side as the ruling BJP.
Question also remains whether Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will join such an effort. Sources said that some efforts have been made to reach out to them, but so far, there is no clear response from them.
Reacting to Mr. Patnaik’s letter to fellow Chief Ministers, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “It’s all very well for Odisha CM to write to all CMs, but why can’t he write to PM & persuade him? After all BJD has always supported BJP in Parliament for past 7 years. Several like-minded parties have already written to PM earlier asking for procurement of vaccines by Union Govt.”
CPI general secretary D. Raja said that it is a critical hour and the opposition needs to put up a united front. “The BJP is trying to divert attention from mismanagement of the pandemic by attacking the states. We need to unitedly fight this government,” he said.
