Samajwadi Party skips Cong protest on Adani for second day

New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party (SP) stayed away from the I.N.D.I.A bloc protested on the Adani issue outside the Parliament House for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, amid indications that uneasiness has crept into its relationship with the Congress.

Another I.N.D.I.A partner, Trinamool Congress, has already distanced itself from the Adani-centric strategy led by the Congress and has been not attending floor leaders’ meetings convened by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. It also skipped the protests.

While both Congress and SP downplayed differences, saying they have their own priorities, the SP has expressed anguish over Congress's lack of coordination on Parliament floor strategy. A senior SP leader said the Congress was springing surprises on the floor of the House.

Samajwadi Party wants to 'concentrate' on Sambhal violence and does not want to distract itself, the leader said. “Adani is their (Congress) issue. We are a regional party and our issue is Sambhal and we do not want to dilute it by attending a protest or creating disruption,” the leader told DH.

That is why SP MPs led by Dimple Yadav walked out with Congress in Lok Sabha when the latter raised the issue of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi being prevented from going to Sambhal where a survey of a mosque had triggered a clash between security forces and locals, killing four, he said.

“Our only issue is Sambhal,” SP Rajya Sabha floor leader Ramgopal Yadav said when asked about not participating in the Adani protest.

On Tuesday, when the Parliament started functioning after five days of washout, Congress joined the SP in the walkout when it raised the Sambhal issue. However, the SP did not join Congress when it separately walked out in Lok Sabha on farmers' issue. In Rajya Sabha, the Congress also did not join SP when it walked out on the Sambhal issue.

However, SP blames it on a 'lack of coordination' by Congress. “On Wednesday, we would have walked out with them on the farmers’ issue in Rajya Sabha if we were told about their intention to raise it. We came to know only when they raised it,” the leader said.

Incidentally, SP chief and Lok Sabha floor leader Akhilesh Yadav has not attended any I.N.D.I.A floor leaders’ meeting during the Winter session. The party had been also upset with the Congress for not campaigning enough during the Assembly bypolls.