Cong may force BJP to seek cancellation of suspended MPs

R JagannathanFirstpost.com

On Tuesday , Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha didn't enter Parliament. They instead stood outside and, led by party chief Sonia Gandhi, shouted slogans against the Prime Minister accusing him of only indulging in 'mann ki baat' and long speeches. In the Rajya Sabha, each time the House was in session, Congress MPs were soon in the well of the House, holding placards and waving black bands, causing a frustrated deputy chairman PJ Kurien to accuse them of the 'height of indiscipline'.The decision to suspend 25 of the 44 Congress MPs may have been taken by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan, but the blame is being laid squarely on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While Sonia Gandhi marshalled the slogan shouting MPs outside Parliament, MPs from The Left, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and RSP protested inside against the suspension of the Congress legislators.Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav ended all speculation about which side he stood on the debate by first leading his MPs in shouting 'nilamban wapas lo' in the Lok Sabha and then walking out, reported the Telegraph. Others like the Trinamool Congress and AAP boycotted proceedings. CPM’s Sitaram Yechury did not rule out moving a motion against Mahajan since her decision was "excessive in nature"Faced with an opposition seemingly united around the Congress, the BJP is now reportedly seeking to cancel or at least reduce the suspension of the 25 Congress MPs in the hope of getting other parties back into Parliament.The Indian Express quoted an unnamed source as saying that the government may consult with the Speaker if the suspension can be reduced and then get the Congress to promise that placards will not be displayed during Parliamentary proceedings and they won't "humiliate the Speaker".An unnamed senior minister in the government told PTI, "If members go to Speaker and say that they want to come to the House, the Speaker can revoke it."When asked whether he is ready to support any such request by Congress MPs to the Speaker, he said, "If somebody wants to talk, I am ready to talk."However, the Congress is showing no signs of contrition or making such a request. Faced with such obduracy, the BJP may consider seeking Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh's help to mediate on their behalf, the Indian Expressreport said.For the BJP, getting the Congress to relent and bringing the opposition back into Parliament is crucial as it attempts to pass legislation like the Goods and Services Tax and the Land Acquisition bills. On Land Acquisition bill it has incorporated many of the Congress's suggestions. According to the Indian Express, the Congress had shown signs of relenting on the GST bill as well. The BJP even seemed to be even getting through to other Opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party on the contentious legislation. However, with none of the parties now prepared to engage with it, the BJP is looking at a complete washout of the monsoon session.For now, it's putting on its brave face though. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkiah Naidu has said that the government will still be bringing the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha. But as pointed out earlier, this will only present a unique opportunity for Vice President Rahul Gandhi to lead a united opposition against the Modi government. And he will get to play a martyr while doing so.As Firstpost's R Jagannathan had pointed out in a piece yesterday, the Modi government's show of strength in confronting the opposition Parliament is only making things worse for it as it attempts to pass crucial legislation. Though it won't give in to the Congress demands for the resignation of Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, it can at least attempt to try and calm the situation in Parliament enough to at least get the other parties back in.But is the BJP be willing to eat crow?The writer is editor-in-chief, digital and publishing, Network18 Group.