With ‘appropriate steps at appropriate time’ jibe, INDIA bloc has put Modi on notice

Just 40 seats away from the Lok Sabha’s simple majority mark of 272 seats, the Opposition’s INDIA bloc will “take appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realise the people’s desire to not be ruled” by a BJP-led NDA government.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s statement, made late Wednesday (June 5) evening on behalf of his INDIA allies, assured Narendra Modi that the Opposition would not stall his return as the prime minister for a third consecutive term. Yet, conspicuous within Kharge’s assurance was also a note of caution – that much like the BJP of the past decade, the INDIA bloc won’t hesitate in chipping away NDA’s slender majority of 21 seats – the NDA has 293 seats – if and when a possibility arises.

Kharge’s craftily worded statement was the outcome of over two hours of discussions among senior INDIA bloc leaders amid speculations that the 234 MPs strong Opposition alliance could try to lure BJP’s allies, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in particular, to its side. Sources privy to the INDIA bloc talks at Kharge’s 10, Rajaji Marg residence in Delhi told The Federal that while the possibility of winning over some NDA partners was indeed discussed at the meet and, prior to it, among some senior alliance leaders, it was eventually decided by consensus that “no such attempt will be made right now”.

All set to take on NDA

The over 30 alliance leaders in attendance at the meeting, however, agreed that the bloc’s intent to not let the Modi-led NDA coalition breathe easy must be conveyed by Kharge “in clear terms”. Subsequently, Kharge’s statement to the media stressed on three key points.

Firstly, that the people’s mandate in the Lok Sabha polls was a “befitting reply to the BJP and their politics of hate, corruption and deprivation” and a “political and moral defeat” of Modi.

Secondly, that the poll results were “in defence of the Constitution of India and against price rise, unemployment, and crony capitalism and also to save democracy” and that the INDIA bloc will “continue to fight against the fascist rule of the BJP led by Modi”.

Lastly, and most importantly, that the INDIA bloc would “take appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realise the people’s desire to not be ruled by the BJP government”.

Here are the key takeaways from the discussions that The Federal pieced together after speaking to various leaders who attended the meeting:

1. Doors for new allies to be kept open: Kharge made this clear in his opening remarks at the meeting when he said that the Opposition’s alliance would welcome “all parties which share its fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution and to its many provisions for economic, social and political justice.” However, there was also unanimity among allies that the INDIA bloc would not go shopping for NDA constituents proactively, just yet.

The leaders felt that hasty attempts at cobbling up a majority could prove counter-productive since even if Naidu and Nitish were to switch sides, the INDIA bloc would still be over a dozen seats short of a simple majority. Most believed it would rather be prudent to wait for cracks to emerge within the NDA coalition given Modi’s inherent inability to take allies along and cave in to hard bargains. Some leaders also pointed out that sooner or later the past acrimony between Naidu, Nitish and Modi would become a problem for the NDA and also that several poll promises and electoral concerns of Naidu and Nitish do not align with Modi’s political posturing. As such, it was decided that the INDIA bloc would wait for these fault lines to emerge while constantly reminding the TDP and JD(U) chiefs of their bitter experiences of the past in dealing with Modi.

2. Keep constant vigil on its own flock: Most senior INDIA leaders, including Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar were of the view that the alliance must first focus on ensuring its own unity, safeguard itself against any attempts of poaching by the BJP and keep up its engagement with the public to continue exposing the Modi regime’s failures. There were also fleeting references to exploring the possibility of any reconciliation with those leaders who had left their respective parties to join the BJP, either as party members or as allies.

3. Give Modi no quarter: There was consensus among INDIA leaders that the issues they had raised through the poll campaign – price rise, unemployment, BJP’s assault on the Constitution and reservations, caste census, crony capitalism, et al – must be kept alive in public consciousness and that the Opposition must keep demanding answers from the Modi regime on each of these fronts, both inside Parliament and outside it.

The INDIA leaders also agreed that issues which the Modi regime had successfully evaded, particularly over the past five years, due to its brute majority, must be taken up by the Opposition with renewed vigour. Key among these were the Opposition’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations of financial malpractice and stock manipulation by the Adani group, disclosures regarding the PM-CARES fund and its investigation and probe into electoral bonds.

On Thursday (June 6) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also added to this list the demand for a JPC probe into the alleged stock market manipulation scam for which “the Prime Minister and the Home Minister are directly responsible”. Rahul alleged that for the first time in the country’s electoral history, the PM and the HM had, during the course of the poll campaign, urged the people to invest in the stock market and assured them that the markets would rally high on June 4.

The Congress leader alleged that Modi and Shah’s appeal led “five crore families” to invest in the stock market, which collapsed on June 4 as the results were declared. A direct consequence of Modi and Shah’s “investment advise”, Rahul said was that retail investors lost “Rs 30 lakh crore” when the markets crashed.

“We demand a JPC into this. We are absolutely convinced that this is a scam. Somebody has made thousands of crores of rupees at the cost of Indian retail investors and the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have given an indication to buy, and this is a criminal act,” Rahul said.