Congress Gears Up To Take On BJP In Budget Session, Oppn Parties Reluctant To Get On Board

Congress chief Mallikarujun Kharge has called a meeting of “like-minded” Opposition parties on Monday morning to firm up their floor strategy to corner the government.

Congress chief Mallikarujun Kharge

Source : PTI

New Delhi: With the second part of the Budget session set to begin Monday, the Congress is gearing up for a confrontation with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This comes in the wake of party leader Rahul Gandhi being slammed in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over his comments inside and outside the House.

Congress chief Mallikarujun Kharge has called a meeting of “like-minded” Opposition parties on Monday morning to firm up their floor strategy to corner the government.

However, with this being the top agenda, the Opposition parties are reluctant to be part of the campaign.  

According to report, the Trinamool Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi are likely to skip the meeting.  

A TMC leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his party would decide its own strategy and it need not be dictated by Congress. Meanwhile, last week, BRS leader K Kavitha had said that the Congress was no longer a national force, and if it wanted to defeat the BJP, it should learn to be a team player working with regional parties.

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Notably, in the wake of Rahul Gandhi making “defamatory comments” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and for “challenging” the authority of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, in the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee, has asked for termination of his membership.

In Rajya Sabha, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has objected to Gandhi’s remarks made abroad “denigrating” the Parliament. Facing attack from both ends, Congress is now bracing itself for a duel, but might not find all other Opposition parties on board.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar met the floor leaders of all parties in the Upper House at his residence and advised the gathering against “disruptions” being used as a parliamentary tool.