While the Opposition under the leadership of JMM on Thursday went into a huddle taking along Congress and other smaller parties, the ruling BJP is scheduled to meet on July 23 to prepare its counter narratives. The sense, however, within the BJP hints that the party is wary of the offensive and even readying itself for a washout.
leader of Opposition Hemant Soren first held an extended meeting of the JMM legislative body along with Congress leaders in which it was decided that the party would walk shoulder to shoulder with other parties to round up the BJP inside the House.
“We have host of issues which are in the larger interest of the State and are common cause of concern for all of us. law and order situation in the State has went from bad to worse besides, the recent cases of custodial death and police offensives. All of us have also decided to raise the CD issue which has come into light relating to Rajya Sabha election,” said JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya.
The Congress, at the same time, is also fancying its chances to rub the Government in a wrong way and get some mileage amid internal differences learnt to have crippled the party. On the back foot over its MlA Irfan Ansari’s outburst against none other than party’s State president Sukhdeo Bhagat, the Congress would share the stage with JMM and JVM in the ‘larger public interest’.
“Opposition is united against autocratic functioning of the Government. They have failed on every count, be it minimum support price of paddy, reckless dova construction exercise which is a misuse of public money without any benefit to the farmers and of course the ‘sting operation’ featuring none else but the Chief Minister. There are lots of common grounds for us to maneuver upon,” said Alamgir Alam, the Congress legislative Party leader in the House, who took part in the Opposition’s meeting.
On the other hand, the ruling coalition headed by the BJP having supposedly sensed a washout after Hemant Soren’s remark, is preparing to meet a day after the Friday start. “We would meet at the residence of the Chief Minister on July 23 in the evening. As far as the gesture of the Opposition is concerned, we welcome any positive suggestion coming to us. Their issues should be logical and not just based on rigidity. What are they going to gain for the people with this kind of threats,” said BJP chief whip Radha Krishna Kishore.
Soren, after the all-party meet called by Speaker Dinesh Oraon on Wednesday, had threatened for a washout if the Government, in his view, did not fall in line and come clean on the issues at hand. This apart, contentious domicile issue is also at the fore since the coalition partner AJSU is perceived to have sided with the Opposition on this.
“AJSU has taken its concern to the Government in positive manner which is being considered. They are well within their democratic right to do so. As far as the issue is concerned, top leadership of both the parties are in touch,” added Kisore.