The speeches made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Parliament on Tuesday stood out in stark contrast – a clear pointer to the continuing trust deficit between the two political rivals.
The speeches showed that after his party’s battering in the Bihar elections, a visibly demoralised Modi has decided to reach out to the opposition with an eye on the passage of the crucial Goods and Services Tax Bill. Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, is obviously feeling emboldened after the Bihar verdict, which was reflected in his short intervention in the Lok Sabha.
If the tone adopted by Rahul Gandhi is any indication, Modi will have to go beyond extending an invitation to tea to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to get the cooperation of the principal opposition party for pushing through the crucial tax reform bill.
Different messages
While Modi persisted with the conciliatory tone in his concluding reply to the discussion on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha, a combative Rahul Gandhi launched a strident and personal attack against the prime minister in his intervention in the Lok Sabha on the discussion on the growing incidents of intolerance.
Presenting himself in a new avatar, Modi referred to the positive contribution made by past leaders to the growth of the nation and underlined the need to work together. “It is easy to create divisions among people but instead we should look at ways of uniting them,” Modi declared.
Just when the prime minister was speaking about the need to work together, Rahul Gandhi was busy lambasting Modi for his failing in his duty to assure the victim’s family after the Dadri killing that they are safe in India. Drawing attention to the mood of intolerance to any form of criticism, the Nehru-Gandhi scion declared, “Today in India, staging a protest means sedition.”
Rahul Gandhi came down heavily on Modi for tolerating ministers and other Bharatiya Janata Party MPs who spoke the language of hatred. He was particularly critical that Modi did not remove VKSingh from the council of ministers even after he compared Dalit children with dogs. “VK Singh has directly challenged the constitution by likening Dalit children to dogs,” the Congress vice-president said. “But our PM has let a man like him continue as a minister.”
Tea break
If Modi believed he could buy peace with the principal opposition party with his laudatory references to the contributions made by Jawaharlal Nehru and other Congress leaders in his speeches, he was clearly off the mark. Rahul Gandhi was not impressed. Taking a swipe at the prime minister, the Congress vice-president maintained that while Modi believes that these “intellectual heroes” have to be worshipped, “For me what was heroic about the people he mentioned was their ability to listen to the people of this country.”
When Modi invited his predecessor and Sonia Gandhi to tea last week to discuss the GST Bill, it was believed that this would result in narrowing their differences over this legislation. The Congress conveyed the three changes it wants incorporated in the bill and the government dropped its earlier stubborn attitude and expressed its willingness to work on a compromise formula. There were signs of a thaw as both sides promised to resume their dialogue following deliberations within their respective parties.
However, Rahul Gandhi’s speech today indicates that the passage of the GST Bill is not exactly a done deal. Undoubtedly, the corporate sector is exerting pressure on the Congress to facilitate the passage of the bill. And he runs the risk of being dubbed “anti-industry and anti-reform” if he fails to display any flexibility on this issue.
It is for this reason that Rahul Gandhi has gone out of his way in recent weeks to explain the party’s objections to the bill at various fora and to different audiences. His constant refrain has been: “We are not against the GST Bill… after all, it is our bill. But we have concerns and we would like the government to address them.”
Tit-for-tat treatment
Senior ministers claim that while Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi want to move forward on the GST Bill, it is Rahul Gandhi who is holding out. “He is the unpredictable one,” remarked a BJP minister.
While Rahul Gandhi’s tough stand vis-à-vis the government is well-known, he also has to contend with stiff opposition from the younger Congress members who insist that they should not give an easy ride to the ruling alliance. In this connection, they point out how the BJP had obstructed their legislative agenda when the Congress was in power.
“Don’t forget, the GST Bill was deliberately held up in the parliamentary standing committee for over two years. It was subsequently stalled by the BJP-led governments in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh,” said a former Congress minister. More importantly, it is argued, there is no reason for the Congress to rush with its support to a Bill which would be claimed by Modi as his personal victory and also arm him with a legislation which may go some way in improving the country’s ailing economy. The prime minister’s conciliatory approach, according to Congress leaders, is, at best, a tactical retreat. “He will be back to his old avatar once the GST Bill is passed,” a senior Congress functionary added.
The speeches showed that after his party’s battering in the Bihar elections, a visibly demoralised Modi has decided to reach out to the opposition with an eye on the passage of the crucial Goods and Services Tax Bill. Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, is obviously feeling emboldened after the Bihar verdict, which was reflected in his short intervention in the Lok Sabha.
If the tone adopted by Rahul Gandhi is any indication, Modi will have to go beyond extending an invitation to tea to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to get the cooperation of the principal opposition party for pushing through the crucial tax reform bill.
Different messages
While Modi persisted with the conciliatory tone in his concluding reply to the discussion on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha, a combative Rahul Gandhi launched a strident and personal attack against the prime minister in his intervention in the Lok Sabha on the discussion on the growing incidents of intolerance.
Presenting himself in a new avatar, Modi referred to the positive contribution made by past leaders to the growth of the nation and underlined the need to work together. “It is easy to create divisions among people but instead we should look at ways of uniting them,” Modi declared.
Just when the prime minister was speaking about the need to work together, Rahul Gandhi was busy lambasting Modi for his failing in his duty to assure the victim’s family after the Dadri killing that they are safe in India. Drawing attention to the mood of intolerance to any form of criticism, the Nehru-Gandhi scion declared, “Today in India, staging a protest means sedition.”
Rahul Gandhi came down heavily on Modi for tolerating ministers and other Bharatiya Janata Party MPs who spoke the language of hatred. He was particularly critical that Modi did not remove VKSingh from the council of ministers even after he compared Dalit children with dogs. “VK Singh has directly challenged the constitution by likening Dalit children to dogs,” the Congress vice-president said. “But our PM has let a man like him continue as a minister.”
Tea break
If Modi believed he could buy peace with the principal opposition party with his laudatory references to the contributions made by Jawaharlal Nehru and other Congress leaders in his speeches, he was clearly off the mark. Rahul Gandhi was not impressed. Taking a swipe at the prime minister, the Congress vice-president maintained that while Modi believes that these “intellectual heroes” have to be worshipped, “For me what was heroic about the people he mentioned was their ability to listen to the people of this country.”
When Modi invited his predecessor and Sonia Gandhi to tea last week to discuss the GST Bill, it was believed that this would result in narrowing their differences over this legislation. The Congress conveyed the three changes it wants incorporated in the bill and the government dropped its earlier stubborn attitude and expressed its willingness to work on a compromise formula. There were signs of a thaw as both sides promised to resume their dialogue following deliberations within their respective parties.
However, Rahul Gandhi’s speech today indicates that the passage of the GST Bill is not exactly a done deal. Undoubtedly, the corporate sector is exerting pressure on the Congress to facilitate the passage of the bill. And he runs the risk of being dubbed “anti-industry and anti-reform” if he fails to display any flexibility on this issue.
It is for this reason that Rahul Gandhi has gone out of his way in recent weeks to explain the party’s objections to the bill at various fora and to different audiences. His constant refrain has been: “We are not against the GST Bill… after all, it is our bill. But we have concerns and we would like the government to address them.”
Tit-for-tat treatment
Senior ministers claim that while Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi want to move forward on the GST Bill, it is Rahul Gandhi who is holding out. “He is the unpredictable one,” remarked a BJP minister.
While Rahul Gandhi’s tough stand vis-à-vis the government is well-known, he also has to contend with stiff opposition from the younger Congress members who insist that they should not give an easy ride to the ruling alliance. In this connection, they point out how the BJP had obstructed their legislative agenda when the Congress was in power.
“Don’t forget, the GST Bill was deliberately held up in the parliamentary standing committee for over two years. It was subsequently stalled by the BJP-led governments in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh,” said a former Congress minister. More importantly, it is argued, there is no reason for the Congress to rush with its support to a Bill which would be claimed by Modi as his personal victory and also arm him with a legislation which may go some way in improving the country’s ailing economy. The prime minister’s conciliatory approach, according to Congress leaders, is, at best, a tactical retreat. “He will be back to his old avatar once the GST Bill is passed,” a senior Congress functionary added.
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