What is happening at JNU, Opposition asks prime minister at all-party meet

The all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament provided a snapshot of what is to come when proceedings get underway on February 23.

The prime minister had called the all-party meeting – the first time he has done so before a Parliament session – to seek the cooperation of Opposition parties. But the meeting was overshadowed by recent events at the capital’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. Opposition leaders asked the prime minister to intervene in the escalating row at the campus after JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on charges of sedition for a speech at an event to mark the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have been an integral part of the ongoing confrontation at the university.

Apart from eliciting a sharp public response, the snowballing controversy has served to unite the Opposition parties ahead of the Budget Session. “What is happening in JNU?” was the constant refrain of Opposition leaders, who sought a clarification from the prime minister on the issue.

In one voice

Leaders from the Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Janata Dal (United), and the DMK made clear their agenda for the upcoming session. They said they would seek answers from the government in general and the prime minister in particular on the JNU incident, the suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula at University of Hyderabad, and the overall attempts seemingly being made by BJP leaders to escalate tensions and intimidate those who disagree with them.

After the prime minister alluded to these issues in his opening statements at the meeting, Ghulam Nabi Azad, a Congress member and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, took on the BJP for its polarising tactics.

“Earlier you branded every Muslim as anti-national, but after the JNU and Hyderabad University incidents, it appears you are also questioning the patriotism of Hindus,” Azad is learnt to have said.

Azad also referred to the personal attacks on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi by BJP leaders who had questioned his patriotism, and reminded the ruling party leaders that two prime ministers – Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, both Congress leaders – had sacrificed their lives for the country.

Azad pointed out that while the government wanted the Opposition to co-operate in the functioning of Parliament, BJP leaders remained on the path of confrontation with the Opposition.

CPM’s Mohamad Salim and CPI leader D Raja were equally vociferous in demanding answers from the Prime Minister. Raja claimed that the prevailing atmosphere was of fear and terror, and sought the dismissal of charges against the JNUSU president Kanhaiya and his release.

“You are the Prime Minister of the country…do you believe the charge of sedition against my comrade is justified,” Raja asked Modi. He also wanted to know if Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s remarks on the JNU row had the prime minister’s blessings. Singh had said that the student protests at JNU had the backing of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed.

The CPM’s Salim also made it clear that the JNU row will top his party’s agenda. Reminding Modi about how he had bowed his head in respect when he entered the Parliament House for the first time after taking charge as prime minister, the CPM leader said: “You said Parliament is the temple of democracy but you must remember there can be no puja without the ringing of temple bells….and in this case, we will ring these bells.”

High stakes

While making their intentions clear, all the Opposition leaders said that they wanted Parliament to run smoothly and were all for a meaningful discussion on matters concerning the people.

Modi said little during the two-hour discussions except to underline that he was the prime minister of the entire country and not only of the BJP.

There is a lot riding on the Budget Session of Parliament. The National Democratic Alliance government has been under constant attack for not engaging with opposition parties as relations between the ruling alliance and the opposition have deteriorated over the past year. This confrontation has resulted in the washout of the past two Parliament sessions.

Modi’s move to reach out to the Opposition was prompted by the urgency to pass the long-pending Goods and Services Tax Bill in this session, as it seeks to revive the country’s ailing economy. The ruling alliance needs the support of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha for the passage of bills as it is still in a minority in the Upper House. The Opposition has so far held out no assurance about its support.