Modi government tweaks strategy to rein in Cong belligerence

The government may use the good offices of its party MP SS Ahluwalia, who heads the joint parliamentary committee, looking into the Bill to delay the submission of the report. The panel may seek two-week extension till August 3 to finalise its report, which will allow the government to defer placing the Bill in the House, as the Opposition especially the Congress had sworn to get it defeated. The non-submission of the report will make it necessary to re-promulgate the ordinance for a record fourth time. The Monsoon Session ends on August 13. The ordinance was promulgated for the third time on May 31.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Sunday once again made it clear that the government should announce the resignation of “scam-accused” ministers if it wanted to get the Bills passed in the Monsoon Session. “Hope Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces resignations of scam-accused ministers ... passing of Bills will become very easy,” said leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad. 

The party’s primary agenda will be an attack on the BJP over its Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and senior Union Minister Sushma Swaraj for helping the disgraced cricket boss Lalit Modi, who is in United Kingdom. The party will also demand the scalp of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the Vyapam scam. 

“This is the price the government has to pay for allowing to parliament to run smoothly,” indicated a senior Congress leader. To counter the aggressive Opposition, BJP leadership met on Sunday to discuss the party strategy for the Monsoon Session. The meeting held at party chief Amit Shah’s residence was attended by Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Piyush Goyal and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje and senior party leader Ram Lal among others. Later in the day the leaders met Modi at his 7 RCR residence to draw up a counter offensive. The leaders have been joined by Chouhan and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

According to sources, the leaders discussed the party’s line of defense over the Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh as Opposition parties have closed ranks to corner the NDA government on these issues. Modi had convened a meeting of all NDA partners on Monday to chalk out the strategy for the ruling bench vis-à-vis the expected attack from the Opposition.

Several alliance partners like the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal have advised a go-slow on the issue of the Land Bill. The party’s electoral allies from Bihar like the LJP and RLSP too were said to be of the opinion that the Land Bill be placed in the backburner till the Bihar elections, scheduled to take place between September-October.