Sonia's dinner diplomacy - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir

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Sonia's dinner diplomacy

Omkar Dattatray

3/14/2018 8:52:33 PM

If BJP led NDA has to be fought in the general elections there should be opposition unity. The divided house of opposition parties cannot fight the formidable and stronger BJP. It follows that without opposition unity there are no chances of battling the BJP led NDA. With this view arch rivals from among opposition parties put up a united face at the dinner hosted by UPA Chairperson and former congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi. It was done with a view to defeating NDA in next Lok Sabha elections. But this is no mean task but definitely a herculean work given the strong position of NDA. However, one has to see will this dinner diplomacy succeed in uniting the divided opposition in run up to the general elections of 2019 or will it meet the same fate as of lunch diplomacy of 2005. As many as 20 parties attended the dinner hosted by Sonia Gandhi. It is a unique way to forge opposition unity to fight the elections in 2019. The dinner for opposition parties is being seen as Sonia Gandhi's attempt to cobble a grand unity among opposition parties ahead of congress's upcoming plenary session. As many as 17 opposition parties had come together against BJP led NDA during the presidential and vice-presidential elections last year and Sonia Gandhi has been holding occasional meetings to nurture the bonding. The dinner is a clear message to allies that while Rahul is president of congress party, Sonia Gandhi would actively be part of negotiating a possible alliance before elections. According to Rahul Gandhi there was much political talk during dinner meeting. Some leaders said that dinner was a part of effort to weave a front against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year as the regional alliance were coming together. This coming together of opposition parties needs the leadership qualities of the host. The dinner meeting is part of an effort to cobble unity among opposition parties according to expelled Janta Dal United leader Sharad Yadav. RJD leader and son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tajeshwi Yadav said that efforts are on to get opposition united. See NDA allies are angry, Chandrababu Naidu is angry, Akalis are also angry. They are losing faith in NDA's leadership. TRS is not happy. There is utmost need to cash on this account and forge a unity of all these political parties even though they are arch rivals. According to Tajeshwi Yadav the dinner meeting is an effort to forge a Mahagathbandhan which had earlier being set into motion by Lalu Prasad Yadav. Tajeshwi also accused BJP of political vendetta against its opponents. The meeting of opposition parties assumes significance as it took place against the back drop of standoff with the government in parliament that has seen continuous disruptions since the start of the second half of the budget session on March 5. In the dinner meeting the opposition leaders deliberated and discussed ways to fix accountability of Narinder Modi government in parliament. Congress communications incharge Randeep singh accused government of shying away from debate in parliament on 12600 crores rupees PNB fraud and also failing to tackle unemployment and farmer's problem. This dinner assumes significance in context of moves by regional parties like TRS and Telegu Desham party which has attacked the BJP recently and are said to be jockeying for a third front of parties against BJP and congress. It follows that for congress' Sonia Gandhi the numbers of parties represented at dinner table is far more important than what substance they bring to opposition unity movement against the BJP led NDA ahead of general elections. While the grand old party is boasting of possible presence of representation of 17 parties at Sonia's dinner, no party of import in Andhra and Telagana Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, K. Chandrashekhar Rao's TRS, Jaganmohan Reddy's YRS congress and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM has not been considered worth an invite by the former party president of congress. The list of invitees for Sonia's dinner shows that congress leadership has not learnt its lessons nor is it inclined to take a step forward to mend its ways. Why Sonia did not invite Naidu is understandable to an extent though TDP has pulled out two of its ministers from central government but it continues to be part of NDA. The congress looks up to Naidu as its prospective ally post 2019 elections, just as it was eying Nitesh kumar in Bihar as its prospective ally in 2013-14. But then there is a difference. While Nitesh was still part of NDA and was running the coalition government with BJP, the congress has started sending overt feelers to him since 2012 where as in Naidu's case the congress' prospective alliance with him and his party is only in the mind of congress leaders. Moreover, it is difficult to understand why Sonia left TRS, YSRCP and AIMIM. Interestingly Indian union Muslim League has been invited and not Owaisi. This is perhaps because Owaisi evovkes a much stronger response from the Hindu community which is why congress is wary of inviting him. Sonia's bid for opposition unity or her lunch diplomacy during last year's presidential and vice-presidential elections did not have any lasting impact. Since then the congress alliance with Samajwadi Party has fallen apart. SP realized that its alliance with congress was detrimental to its electoral health and as such dumped the party in the recent by polls to two partliamentarily constituencies to join with BSP. Sonia Gandhi and former head of congress party has said she was hosting the dinner for likeminded parties which need to forget their rivalries to come together for country's sake. In fact, dinner diplomacy was reminiscent of the lunch she had hosted for opposition leaders on February 5, 2004 after the A.B Vajpayee government had cut short the duration of the Lok Sabha and announced early elections. Yes congress has ideological differences with several of the political parties invited for dinner but ideologies hardly matter in today's murkier politics. However, need of the time is to sink the differences and forge a grand alliance if the opposition has to fight NDA head on in 2019 general elections.

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