Missing in action

After energetic and vociferous efforts at stalling monsoon session of Parliament over CAG's report on coal block allocations, BJP leaders appear strangely silent on the current crisis

The United Progressive Alliance may be tottering but where are the leaders of the main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? After energetic and vociferous (and successful) efforts at stalling the monsoon session of Parliament over the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on coal block allocations, BJP leaders appear strangely silent on the current crisis. Part of the reason is that most of the heavyweights are overseas or otherwise occupied. Arun Jaitley is on a visit to New York with a parliamentary delegation, Nitin Gadkari is on holiday in Canada, Narendra Modi is in the country but busy in pre-campaign work ahead of Gujarat Assembly polls and the otherwise vocal Sushma Swaraj has been conspicuous by her silence. Only Yashwant Sinha is in situ but he can hardly be relied on to provide the kind of shrill combativeness of which his colleagues are capable.