Chinks in Oppn unity: NCP, JD-U skip meet

New Delhi: Opposition unity took yet another hit on Friday with Sharad Pawar-led NCP deciding to skip a meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to chalk out a strategy for the coming months.

The Nitish Kumar-led JD(U), which defied the Opposition’s decision and went with the NDA in the presidential election, also did not attend the meeting. A party MP who took part in the deliberations, against the party’s decision, was penalised. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury “deliberately” left after 40 minutes into the meeting, claiming that his party had problems over an electoral alliance with the Congress, sources said.

The 16 parties, which attended the meeting, decided to form a sub-group to prepare a  common agenda ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament.

Sources said five major issues were identified for attacking the NDA government. These include demonetisation, the hasty implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), farmers’ plight, rising unemployment and the political witch hunt of Opposition leaders.

The NCP claimed that it had skipped the meeting in protest against Congress’ allegation that its two MLAs did not vote for Congress leader Ahmed Patel in Gujarat Rajya Sabha poll.

NCP leader Praful Patel said even when his party had issued a three-line whip to its MLAs to vote for the Congress, leaders of that party were accusing it of not supporting Ahmed Patel.

“After we issued a whip to our MLAs, they voted for the Congress. Why should we be accused of not supporting it? That is why we decided to boycott this meeting,” Praful Patel said.

Apart from the NCP, the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) stayed away from the Opposition meeting. However, the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Ali Anwar Ansari, who has sided with senior leader Sharad Yadav and vocal critic of Mr Kumar’s tie-up with the NDA, attended the deliberations. Mr Ansari was promptly suspended from the parliamentary party.

After initially raising the bogey of Opposition unity, the Bihar chief minister has since switched sides to the NDA, however, Mr Yadav has refused to accept his decision.

Sources said the Opposition leaders discussed taking up state-specific issues to corner the BJP and forming on a common minimum agenda.

In the meeting, Mr Yechury said that the Left parties were working towards building an alternative narrative against the NDA government through people’s struggle.

Sources said there was a suggestion, which was keenly supported by some parties, that there should be joint public meetings in major cities. However, Mr Yechury said the Left has a problem with such a programme. The CPI(M) leader also said that the Left had problems over having an electoral alliance with the Congress.

“Such meetings are not effective. It would look more like a tamasha if we go to public without any narrative,” sources quoted Yechury as saying.

He said if there is a people’s struggle, the Left would support it. He also recounted how some parties had chickened out of the plan to collectively protest against demonetisations last year.