Third Front develops cracks as it loses SP, RJD support

The ‘fragile’ unity of the non-UPA, non-NDA alliance is already showing cracks even as the group — also referred to as the Third Front — pledges to continue its tussle with the Manmohan Singh government on the 2G spectrum scam.

Two big names that are no more available to the Front on this issue are Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) and Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

After attending the first two strategy meetings, SP and RJD stopped coming for the strategy sessions since last week. The two parties didn’t attend a meeting of this non-NDA Opposition parties at Mysoora Reddy’s bungalow and refused to join the march to meet the President last Tuesday. The two parties are also not coming for the internal meetings of the Front that are almost regularly held in the Parliament building.

As the non-NDA Opposition was earlier hobnobbing with the SP, the latter’s arch rival — the BSP — had left the Left parties’ bandwagon. Before the Trust Vote in 2008, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat held a breakfast meeting with BSP chief Mayawati and the two sides had briefly joined hands.

When contacted, SP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Mohan Singh said: “We have to face elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2012. We need to have separate agenda and process of our agitation keeping in the mind the political issues of Uttar Pradesh. That’s the reason we are fighting the battle separately. But we have our sympathies for the Left leaders.”

The Left, however, is critical of the role of the SP and RJD, saying they are under pressure from the Congress not to join hands with the Opposition. “Leaders of these parties are facing CBI cases. The Congress is using the CBI as a political tool. One can understand why these parties are reluctant to join us,” CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia told Business Standard.

The SP and RJD are still demanding that the government should form a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the 2G scam.

Worried about their perceived nexus with the BJP in acting against the UPA government on the 2G issue, the non-NDA, non-UPA parties have decided to chalk out their separate agitation programme next week. The CPI(M), the biggest of the four Left parties, will observe a protest week from December 5 to 11. The Third Front aspirants will collectively hold sit-ins outside Parliament on December 7, a day after holding a strategy meeting.

As the ongoing Winter Session in Parliament is likely to end on December 13, the Opposition parties plan to take the battle on the streets, outside Parliament. The BJP also said it would launch its agitation programme on the whole issue of corruption soon.

The Left parties may have to backtrack on another front as well. Initially, the Left leadership had decided they would continue to oppose and stall even the Budget Session of Parliament next year.

P Karunakaran, deputy leader of the CPI(M) in the Lok Sabha, today said, “I don’t think it will be possible. Assembly elections in Kerala and West Bengal are scheduled during that time. Most of our leaders will be very busy campaigning for the party in these two states and will not be in a position to attend Parliament regularly.”