BJP isolated on coalgate debate issue
By Harihar Swarup
There is no way the Congress could have conceded the BJP’s demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Coalgate issue. But one of the ways for the government to break the logjam would have been to offer to cancel all coal block allotments and introduce competitive bidding as originally envisaged in 2004.
Latest reports indicate that the government is considering cancellation of 53 captive allocations that have come under the coal ministry’s scanner for the failure of allottees to meet timelines for starting production. Several big corporates, including Tata, Arcelor Mittal and Jindal group, are among those facing the axe for what official sources called “squatting” over blocks.
These companies have been issued show cause notices and their replies are scrutinized amidst indications that they not pass muster with the coal ministry. A decision could come as early as next week. Sources say during the scrutiny of replies, it was found that at least 17 companies had not made any move to acquire land or get various clearances even years after they were allocated blocks.
On its part, the BJP is hell bent upon disrupting the parliament day after day and persistently rejecting the overtures of the government, and practically all non-BJP opposition parties, to debate the Coalgate issue and, if need be, bring a no-confidence motion against the government. A no-trust motion, however, can be ruled out, as numbers do not favour the BJP. In a parliamentary democracy, there is no way than to debate and expose the government on any controversial issue.
The BJP leader, Arun Shourie, vehemently opposes his party’s method to disrupt parliament in a bid to stall a meaningful debate on the issue of Coalgate. According to him, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman should not adjourn their respective houses day after day, but tire out the slogan shouting BJP members by keep sitting in their chairs. After they feel fatigued, the presiding officers should take their place by turn.
If the principal opposition refuses to acknowledge the majority of an incumbent government and is hell bent on pushing the situation over the brink, there is little that the government of the day can do, except to take undemocratic steps like seeking the expulsion and eviction of the BJP members.
Congress leaders say that the BJP seems intent on destroying parliamentary democracy. Its logic seems to be fascist; “whatever I say is right and I shall prevail”. The BJP is parading disruption of parliament as a national duty – a battle that the party cannot win.
Meanwhile, in a new development Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, brought together non-Congress, non-party parties to press the BJP to desist from disrupting Parliament and allow resumption of proceedings in two houses. Simultaneously, he as well as Left parties, have joined hands to seek a judicial probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into Coalgate. CPI-M leader, Sitaram Yechury said that the cancellation of licenses and announcement of a time-bound probe, “which generates a degree of credibility and identifies those responsible for the huge loss to the exchequer,” could break the logjam. There would be a moral pressure on the BJP to rethink its strategy of stalling Parliament.
Taking a lead in uniting non-NDA parties, which are opposed to the BJP strategy of disrupting Parliament, Mulayam Singh met the Left and TDP leaders, and demanded an inquiry into the coal block allocation scam by a sitting Supreme Court judge.
Leaders of the Left parties claimed that AIADMK and BJD members would also join them. Unhappy that the issue has been turned into a direct fight between the government and the BJP, these parties are seeking a debate in Parliament. They want their voices to be heard and that Parliament should be allowed to function. “We want to demarcate ourselves from the BJP which is now allowing a debate in Parliament”, said CPI-M leader in the Lok Sabha, Basudeb Acharya.
Observers say that Mulayam Singh’s initiative to bring non-Congress and non-BJP parties on one platform may be revival of the attempt made by him to realise his longstanding dream of constituting the Third Front. With Left and various non-Congress, non-BJP parties being upset with the unending feud between the BJP and Congress-led UPA, the Samajwadi Party supremo has been provided with the perfect opportunity. Mulayam Singh met the parties that were key players in the United Front-Left Front dispensation that ruled the centre from 1996 to 1998.
Observers say that Mulayam has effectively arrived at a rapprochement with the Left, which is part of his plan for creation of a bloc of parties for the general election due in 2014. However, these parties earnestly believe that the UPA government may not last till 2014. They do not rule the possibility of an election sometime in 2013. (IPA Service)