There was no quake in Congress-led joint meet
It was a flop show for the Congress which, amidst much hype, had planned a strategy to unite a divided Opposition against the Government's demonetisation drive. The Press conference found few takers as several parties coordinated to boycott the Congress event. Of the 16 parties that were expected to join the Congress camp, only seven turned up to demand the Prime Minister's resignation if his Government failed to meet the 50-day demonetisation deadline that expires by the end of this week. The Congress' laxity in planning and coordination was evident with the opposition parties complaining that they were not even informed about the agenda of the Press meet, leave alone being consulted.
This comes at a time when many Opposition parties had openly condemned the demonetisation. Of them, the left, especially the CPI(M), had been very vocal about the implementation of the scheme. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that there “were no consultations and things were not planned properly for the joint meeting”. Moreover, the Congress itself downplayed its plans. Instead of convincing the parties to join the meet, it did not respond to the complaints of the Opposition. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh reportedly said, “Whoever comes will come and those who don't come will come the next time.” This is yet another instance of the Congress trying to hide its failure.
There are multiple reasons for the Congress' failure to unite the Opposition. First, the problem lies with the Congress scion himself. His conscious efforts to be more visible and vocal backfired. After the failure to put his case in Parliament, the Tuesday Press meet was an opportune time to prove his accusations against the Prime Minister, for which he claimed he had proof. Instead, he chose to level baseless corruption charges against Modi, which even the Supreme Court had refused to buy in a different case. How does one expect the opposition parties to take him seriouslyIJ This is also a failure of the Congress, which is facing a leadership crisis. Why would tall leaders from regional parties want to be subordinate to Rahul Gandhi and toe his lineIJ Second, the agenda of the conference was unambiguous.
The Opposition had wondered if this unity was just for the sake of demonetisation or was there any scope to further the cause. Third, many parties were put off with the Congress when Rahul Gandhi and a bunch of his party leaders went to meet the Prime Minister on the last day of the Winter Session, where they handed to him memorandum over farmers' issues. This came as a blow to the Opposition unity. Fourth, certain regional satraps were divided on the issue. For example, the JD(U) has sided with the demonetisation ever since it was announced, Its Bihar ally, the RJD, on the other hand, was among the seven parties which attended the Press meet. In Uttar Pradesh, both, the SP and the BSP boycotted the Congress-summoned meet. Most parties were also apprehensive of being seen on the platform in view of the upcoming elections in various States. Barring the TMC and the RJD, all other parties which attended the meet, have little hold in their respective States. The only face-saver for the Congress was the TMC. The BJP has every reason to be happy with the development.