While BJP offices in Jharkhand and Jammu are rolling out motichoor laddoos in anticipation of tuesday electoral results, the ruling party leaders in Delhi are a worried lot. Everyone must have watched in amazement the ruckus created in both houses by opposition parties today, who are beginning to demonstrate rare unity. The latest news being even Sharad Pawar’s NCP has joined hands with the Lallu – Yadav – Mamata gang. They held a big public rally too in the capital today to protest the ‘ghar wapasi’ – conversion of minorities to Hinduism. Neither Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha managed to do any business in this din. With its brute majority, the Lok Sabha can hypothetically be road rolled, but what is to be done with the Rajya Sabha that is presided over by Mr. P. J Kurien, a Congress politician and where the ruling BJP/NDA still doesn’t have a simple majority? At the first disturbance he declares ” I will not pass any bills in this confusion and I will adjourn the House” which is exactly what the opposition wants.
In the Rajya Sabha they are demanding that the P.M. should come and clarify government’s stand himself. That is the only way they will let the House function – but Modi is not known to have the humility , even if it is to stoop to conquer. Neither do his Parliamentary affairs Ministers, Venkiah Nadu and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, ironically both Rajya Sabha members , have the political finesse and wisdom of a Kamal Nath who could pacify and cool down opposition’s ruffled feathers. At times even ‘Mouni’Baba (thus caricatured by opposition) Manmohan Singh would pick up the phone and talk to Advani to request for co operation on important bills. But all such telephone lines have been severed now.
Tomorrow is the last day of the winter session of both houses. It is crucial that the Government is at least seen to be making all efforts to conduct business since three important bills are hanging fire. They are : the Insurance Bill, the Coal Bill and the Delhi special laws bills, each significant in its own way.
It is the context of these bills that a meeting that is taking place right now, as this news is being aired becomes very important. Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Ananth Kumar are at Gadkari’s place at 2 Motilal Nehru place to meet RSS senior functionaries like Bhaiyalal Joshi and may be even Bhagwat himself. Even, the Man of the party – Amit Shah is present.
But then, people who reach this conclusion don’t quite get the RSS – BJP nexus and who holds the upper hand in the relationship. They do not realize the fact that however powerful he may seem, Modi rules at the pleasure of the ‘bosses from Nagpur’.
Is the meeting actually to discuss how the bills are to be made into law? Becuase there is only one way forward to do this: to bring Ordinances to pass the bills. Is it for this option that the RSS advise being sought? And a strategy being devised to deal with the obvious fall out.
According to the Indian constitution passing bills by an Ordinance is an extra ordinary measure – it is almost like declaring Emergency. It is to be done only when there is utmost urgency and when Parliament is not in session and there is no time to convene it. Once the Ordinance is passed, the provisions in the bill can be acted upon at once.
That is what the Government wants to do because all three bills are very important. The Insurance Bill is to bring FDI into the country and totally open up this sector. Only that will make foreign investors happy. Let’s not forget that the RSS is not the only master this govt. has to keep happy – with all the foreign trips he has been making and the expectations he has aroused, it is important to keep the American, the European and the Australian investors satisfied too.
The Coal bill is again needed to make fresh allocations of coal mines, which will ensure that coal is supplied to power plants which will ensure they run and provide power to industries. Many of the power plants are facing severe shortage of coal and cannot function beyond some days.
But perhaps the politically most important bill for the BJP at the moment is the Delhi special laws bill. If this bill is passed by the Rajya Sabha – it has already been passed in the Lok Sabha -at one stroke all the unauthorized (as of 2014) colonies of Delhi will be legalized at one stroke! This master stroke will finish the AAP at least for the forthcoming elections scheduled in Delhi any time in 2015,and be the last nail in the coffin of Congress.
The constitution has strict rules about ordinances though. They have to be passed individually by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha within six months. In the present circumstances, that will not happen. But by then, the deeds would be done – insurance field opened, coal allocations begun and Delhi conquered; any opposition by Congress ( who is actually in favour of the bills) or the newly emerging third front will be hypothetical.
But however arrogant it may be, can this Government pass ordinances again and again till it gains majority in the Rajya Sabha – which will happen only in 2017?
Is that what the RSS and BJP big wigs are discussing right now- how to repeat the deed that had almost finished the political career of Mrs. Gandhi and what they still blame the Congress for? (But for which with their fascist inclinations they secretly also admired Indira?)
Ironically, this very significant meeting is happening right outside the junior Mrs. Gandhi’s house. Yes, Sonia lives at 10 Janpath in a house that has a gate opening on Akbar gate right across from 2 Motilal Nehru place – Gadkari’s new official residence. What is unfolding here?
