Brij Bhardwaj
Stage was set for Lok Sabha polls in 2024 in the debate on no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha during last three days. In the debate while opposition talked of Manipur, lack of jobs and inflation, the ruling party spoke about development made in the last nine years and the future plans to make India third largest economy in the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his reply to the debate spoke about rising status of India in the world with international bodies like IMF calling India as bright spot in the world economy.
The Prime Minister, confident about the outcome of no confidence motion spoke at length about the inability of opposition parties to build an alternative agenda and spoke about failures of the Congress party which had brought them down to forty from four hundred seats, that they had won at one time in Lok Sabha. He chose to talk about overall attention paid on progress of North-East by his Government instead of talking about Manipur.
Mr. Modi promised to bring about peace to Manipur soon, and said that rest of the country was with people of the State. His brief reference to Manipur came after he had spoken for a long time about plans of BJP which had transformed India and declared that in the new Lok Sabha to be elected in 2024, opposition parties will be moving no confidence motion only as NDA alliance led by BJP will return to power with a larger majority in the elections to be held next year.
The opposition parties which had not allowed the Parliament to function in the monsoon session by insisting on discussion on Manipur and the presence of Prime Minister in the House finally did manage to get him in the House by moving a no confidence motion. But BJP and Prime Minister turned the tables on them by talking only about the progress made during last nine years of rule and their future plans. Only Home Minister Amit Shah dealt with Manipur issue and he claimed that the problem in Manipur was not new but one they had inherited. He also talked how the overall situation in North east has shown remarkable improvement.
On the other hand Mr Rahul Gandhi who after restoration of his membership of Lok Sabha following stay on his conviction by the Supreme Court chose to speak only about his Bharat Joro Yatra and Manipur where he had gone for two days. He did not pick any other issue nor did he speak about future plans of India alliance or present any alternative plan for development to challenge the ruling party.
If the opposition party’s aim was to confine debate to Manipur only or corner the ruling party for its alleged failure to tackle the ethnic conflict in Manipur, they did not succeed as BJP and their allies did not fall into the trap and chose to present the list of work done by them and achievements during last nine years. There were some attempts by opposition leaders to speak about issues like inflation and unemployment, but no alternative scenario was built.
Me Gandhi was answered by Smriti Irani who asked why opposition parties were not talking about atrocities on women in other parts of the country. Mr Amit Shah defended actions of Central Government as well as Manipur Government. The opposition parties could have made an effective case against Manipur State Government for its failure to check on-going violence which has been continuing for over three months. Its failure to prevent looting of arms from state police stations. It also could have made a strong case for not imposing President’s rule in Manipur.
To sum up, opposition which wanted to score points against Modi Government on the issue of Manipur, inflation, lack of jobs or Chinese activities on Line of control missed the opportunity in probably the last session before elections are held. Instead most of the time was wasted in making a demand for presence of Prime Minister instead of debating on issues highlighting failures of the Government.
The Monsoon session of Parliament was a dress rehearsal for what is to follow in the coming months while campaigning in the elections. The ruling party and Prime Minister Modi have won the first round on all accounts. They were not cornered on any issue, including Manipur, while they were able to present their plans of building India into a strong nation economically and gaining respect in world forums.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
