Mamata Banerjee's efforts to be united Opposition face not going to fructify, says CPI(M)

Mamata Banerjee's efforts to become the leader of an united Opposition will not be successful and it will end up the way Congress' desire came to naught, the CPI(M) has said as it did not find the idea of an "omnibus unity" at the national level "with a leader" feasible.

The remarks came in the editorial of the latest issue of party mouth 'Peoples Democracy', which also said the farmers' struggle has shown what a sustained united struggle can achieve and the Opposition parties should draw the appropriate lesson.

The editorial referred to the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament and said it "revealed a great deal of what the Modi government’s attitude to Parliament is -- outright contempt for Parliament and its democratic functioning".

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It said the ruling BJP refused to allow any discussion on the repeal of the three farm laws and attendant issues though Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that the government was willing to discuss any issue and reply to any question raised by the opposition.

It also referred to the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs, including CPI(M)'s Elamaram Kareem who was not named for unruly behaviour, as well as the Opposition united fight against the action.

The editorial said that these parties are "unitedly protesting this assault on the rights of MPs and the opposition" and this "unity in action on issues which come up within Parliament is how a united resistance can be built.

"But outside Parliament, the efforts of Mamata Banerjee and the TMC to exercise leadership of a united opposition is not going to fructify, just as the desire of the Congress to play that leading role came to naught," it said.

"The farmers’ struggle has shown what a sustained united struggle can achieve. The opposition parties should draw the appropriate lesson. No omnibus unity at the all-India level with a 'leader' is going to work. The broadest unity can be forged through the united actions of different sections of the working people. This should be accompanied by the projection of alternative policies and politics to the Hindutva authoritarian regime, around which all democratic and secular forces can rally around," it said.

On the developments in Parliament, the editorial said the Rajya Sabha is witnessing the "worst display of authoritarianism" where the BJP alliance is "unsure of getting a majority on all legislations".

"So the approach is to muzzle the opposition – refusal to refer any important legislation to a joint select committee, refusal to have a comprehensive discussion on bills, and most objectionably, not allowing a member’s right to call for division and voting," it said adding the suspension was a "premeditated provocation" to get the opposition to react and create a situation whereby the government could get all its bills passed without opposition.

The editorial also recalled that the "alleged incident of unruly behavior" of the MPs was occasioned by the fact that the bill to privatise General Insurance was pushed through without taking up a motion to refer it to a select committee and also the denial of a vote on the matter.

It said the government had run through the three farm laws in September 2020 without any proper discussion and scrutiny by the relevant parliamentary committee, so also now the government pushed through the repeal bill within minutes, refusing to allow any discussion. The presiding officers showed scant regard for parliamentary properties, it alleged.