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| Decision first, attempt at building consensus after bitter opposition | | AFSPA & NC, FDI & Congress | | Rustam
JAMMU, Nov 29: The political behaviour of the National Conference (NC) and the Congress is almost identical. Both claim they believe in democratic principles and in the politics based on consensus.
Both claim they stand for the people and their all-round development. Both claim they evolve and pursue policies aimed at regenerating the socio-economic and political life of the people. They make false claims. None of these outfits believes in and practices politics based on consensus and based on the needs and aspirations of the people.
They are dictatorial in their behaviour and their policies always aim at protecting and advancing further the interests of a particular class at the cost of the people and the nation. They do not mind even bartering paramount national interests. They take decisions unilaterally, make public the same dramatically and when opposed, talk of building consensus.
And, by consensus they mean the opposition must endorse their decisions. The leadership of these two parties is so arrogant that it doesn't care for their coalition partners. The fact of the matter is that both the parties consistently seek to force down the people's and opposition's throat their ill-designed, ill-conceived and motivated decisions.
Take, for example, what Chief Minister Omar Abdullah did on October 21, 2011 and afterwards, what the NC president and Union Minister for Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah has been doing and what the Congress has been doing, particularly since November 22, when the winter session of the Parliament started. On October 21, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sprung a big surprise by announcing that he would lift AFSPA from certain areas of the state before the Durbar move.
As was expected, his announcement created a furore across the country with even his coalition partner -- Congress - not taking kindly to it and his style of functioning. Instead of taking the Congress and other important stakeholders, including the Army, into confidence, he stuck to his controversial stand. He said he was the Chief Minister and he had the power to take any decision. He tried to silence the opposition saying there was no need for him to discuss the matter with the Congress since he had discussed the issue with the Union Home Minister.
It needs to be underlined that the Chief Minister didn't even deem it fit to take his cabinet into confidence. Such was the level of his arrogance and disregard for the laid down procedures. He threw to the wind all the cardinal principles of the cabinet system of government. When cornered, the isolated Chief Minister talked of the need of building consensus. The rest is history.
What about the Chief Minister's father and NC president Farooq Abdullah? His political behaviour has been identical. Only last Sunday he crossed all the lines and told a national news channel that he doesn't care for anybody and any institution and that he and his son were absolutely right. He asserted that his son could do anything he likes and there is no need for him to do what the opposition wants him to do.
He sought to convey an impression that he as the party president and his son as the Chief Minister enjoy overriding powers. In other words, he brazenly displayed his arrogance and disregard for the established norms and procedures.
It took this decision when the Parliament session was on and when the entire opposition had cornered the Congress-led UPA government over the issues of price rise and black money stashed in foreign banks, mostly Swiss banks. There is a view that the cornered and isolated Congress took this decision to deflect the people's attention from the issues of corruption, price rise and black money and create an environment that would ensure deadlock between it and the opposition parties during the remaining period of the winter session so that the Lokpal Bill and other crucial bills of great import are not placed on the floor of the Lok Sabha.
It is hardly necessary to reflect on why the Congress doesn't want these Bills to be taken up for discussion and adoption during the ongoing stormy winter session, as everyone is fully aware of them. Remember, no business has been transacted between November 22 and 28 because members of the UPA, including the Congress party, created ruckus in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The arrogant and unaccommodating Congress and the equally obstinate Prime Minister and his men, including Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who was slapped by an angry Sikh boy in New Delhi last week, and Farooq Abdullah, took the decision on FDI in no time and the concerned minister Anand Sharma, who has never contested any election, and all Congress spokespersons and ministers, including Law Minister Salman Khurshid, not only defended the decision but also said there is no question of rolling it back.
Remember, the Prime Minister's cabinet took this decision much against the wishes of the Trinmool Congress of Mamta Bannerjee and DMK of Karunanidhi, both coalition partners. The TMC and the DMK are rabidly opposed to the decision. They, like the non-UPA parties, believe, and rightly so, that the decision on the FDI, if implemented, would render millions and millions of petty shopkeepers and traders jobless and workless and add to the miseries of the already poor small and marginal farmers.
They say, and perhaps rightly, that 40 crore people in the country, including small shopkeepers, traders and farmers, would be adversely impacted by the decision and that the beneficiaries would be the United States and similar other countries who are out to drain the Indian wealth. They have asked the Congress to roll back the decision.
BSP of Mayawati, SamaJwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Prasad Yadav, which are supporting the UPA government from outside, are also bitterly opposed to the Congress' decision on the FDI in retail trade. They, like the TMC and the DMK, have asked the Congress to withdraw the decision. A couple of cabinet ministers belonging to the Congress party had also opposed the move during the cabinet meeting. The bulk of the opposition is of the view that the Congress has taken the decision under pressure from the United Stated, Britain and France.
The fact is that all the political parties, barring the Congress party (minus a few Congress ministers), the Nationalist Congress Party of Shard Pawar and NC of Farooq Abdullah, have opposed tooth and nail the decision and declared they would not allow the Parliament to function until the controversial decision is withdrawn. But the Congress party has refused to relent. The Law Minister does say that there is the need to evolve consensus but his consensus, like the consensus of Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal, means the opposition must endorse the decision.
In short, by consensus the Congress and the NC mean imposition of their will on all others. This is utterly unacceptable. It would not be an overstatement if someone may say so that both the parties are not only down but also out. There is no doubt whatever that the people would discard both these parties as and when elections are held. |
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