On Thursday, eight regional parties did not invite Congress to participate in a joint protest against the government over the Goods and Services Tax (GST) quotas that the Center owes to the states.
Leaders belonging to the Trinamool Congress, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Samajwadi Party (SP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena gathered near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament House complex to seek immediate release of compensation for a shortfall in his share of GST collections.
Of these eight parties, NCP, Shiv Sena, DMK, and RJD are the congressional allies in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar respectively. The Congress, along with the NCP and Shiv Sena, is part of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra.
The move is being seen as a setback to the Opposition’s attempt to put a united front against the Center in Parliament during the current monsoon session.
The leaders who participated in the protest were Derek O’Brien and Kalyan Banerjee from the Trinamool Congress, K Keshava Rao from TRS, Manoj Jha from RJD, Sanjay Singh from AAP; Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav from SP, Supriya Sule from NCP; TR Baalu and TKS Elangovan from DMK, and Sanjay Raut from Shiv Sena.
When asked why Congress was not invited, party spokesman Pawan Khera said: “This is something that those parties should respond to. With regard to Congress, we constantly raise from all platforms the problems that affect the daily lives of all Indians. “
When asked why Congress was not convened for the protest, a regional party leader said that the TRS and the AAP did not feel comfortable sharing space with the party.
See: Opposition parties protest in Parliament over GST quotas
Addressing journalists after the protest, O’Brien said: “It is becoming increasingly clear to us that in Parliament, regional parties find it easier to coordinate with each other to strategize. Congress can no longer decide the issue and then the opposition’s dose of strategy. They cannot do something in the states and seek support in Parliament. ”
Echoing his views, Banerjee said that Congress joins the BJP in Bengal in attacking the Mamata Banerjee government and then hopes for cooperation in Delhi. “All (regional) parties are strong in their respective regions and they feel very comfortable working with each other.”
The immediate trigger for the TMC position appears to be the appointment of a known CM Mamata Banerjee harasser, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, as president of the West Bengal Congress.
In his first press conference in Calcutta, Chowdhury attacked the “totalitarian regime” of the Trinamool Congress.
The move also ran contrary to an understanding reached among key leaders at a virtual meeting called by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Aug. 26 to discuss issues of GST compensation and conducting entrance exams amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apart from four Chief Ministers of Congress, Captain Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and V Narayanasamy (Puducherry), the Chief Ministers of West Bengal (Mamata Banerjee), Maharashtra (Uddhav Thackeray ) and Jharkhand (Hemant Soren) attended the meeting.
Congress did not invite senior ministers from Odisha (Naveen Patnaik), Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal), Andhra Pradesh (YS Jaganmohan Reddy), Telangana (K Chandrasekhar Rao) and Kerala (Pinarayi Vijayan).
All leaders agreed to work closely together to confront the central government inside and outside of Parliament. AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the eight parties will have more joint meetings in the coming days. The protest came before a scheduled discussion on GST in Rajya Sabha.
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