Resurgent Oppn to trouble Govt in Parliament

The defeat of the BJP in Assembly elections will have an echo in Parliament from Wednesday where a resurgent Opposition will seek to corner the Narendra Modi government over a variety of issues from Rafale deal to agrarian crisis.

Buoyed by the results, the Opposition will raise the pitch in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said parties should utilise the Winter Session of Parliament, which began on Tuesday, for public interest and not political benefit.

Ahead of the Session that ends on January 8, Modi told reporters in Parliament House, "there should be an open discussion. There should be a debate, there should be a sharp debate. But at least there should be one."

He said he is confident that all political parties "who have to face the electoral test in May (next year), while keeping in mind the people, will utilise the session for public interest and not political interest". Expressing hope that the session would be constructive and members would participate in debates on key issues, he said he expected members to sit for a longer duration to resolve key issues concerning the common man.

However, the Opposition have gathered enough ammunition for the Session and have decided to raise Rafale scam as well as the "attack" on institutions like RBI, CBI and Election Commission.

Leaders of 21 Opposition parties met here on Monday to strategise their future fight against Modi government inside and outside Parliament.

"There was a consensus to stop BJP's assault on our institutions be it CBI, RBI or the Election Commission. There is consensus that the BJP's corruption on Rafale, demonetisation and other areas are simply unacceptable. There is a consensus that we are going to work together to defeat the BJP-RSS," Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Monday.

Opposition leaders believe that the Modi government has weakened with the results and it provides them with enough space to raise the concerns of the people.