BJP MP Om Birla was elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday by voice vote. Considering the claim by the opposition that its decision to put up its own candidate was necessary symbolism, it was strange that it did not seek a division after the vote. That would have pushed the message home with greater intensity. The reason was obvious – there was no certainty about how many in the opposition would actually vote for the alternative. It may be recalled that the Trinamool Congress had already stated that it had not been consulted in this regard. It would have been hugely embarrassing for the opposition alliance, which has been flaunting its increased numbers, if the votes cast had fallen short of the claimed total.
It is obvious that the opposition strategy is not being fully thought through and a consultative process is lacking. This became obvious when, while ostensibly ‘congratulating’ the Speaker on taking over the post, leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and others commented disparagingly on the manner in which he had conducted the previous Lok Sabha. Birla smiled through the sarcasm and then delivered the sledge-hammer blow – a lengthy condemnation of the 1975 Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi led Congress (25 June was the anniversary of the event). While the Congress members were obviously greatly upset, it was difficult for the alliance partners to protest with equal intensity. More so because only a while ago they were lecturing the Speaker on defending the Constitution and conducting the House impartially.
It is one thing to forge an alliance during an election so that opposition parties do not cut into each other’s votes. It is quite another to have a functional ideological platform. It must not be forgotten that RJD MP Misa Bharti is named after the law under which her father and his colleagues were imprisoned during the Emergency. Which party will compromise on its approach to the Emergency for the sake of a common platform? The defence of the Constitution may be a worthwhile campaign slogan but, in practice, it would require some difficult decision making. The ‘Jai Palestine’ slogan raised by Asaduddin Owaisi may not be a challenge to the Constitution, but what if the separatists and radicals who have been elected to the Lok Sabha were to go with ‘Jai Khalistan’, or such like? What will be the stand of the opposition then? At what point will they rise above their anti-Modi position?
