Trai Bill passage shows little resolute oppn to govt

The Congress failed in the Rajya Sabha, too, though it had larger numbers (68) than the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (43)

Going by the passage in Parliament of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Bill, the Congress stands isolated.

The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on Monday and the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The government had a majority in the Lok Sabha but even parties critical of it did not support the Congress there. As for the Rajya Sabha, the Congress failed here, too, though it had larger numbers (68) than the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (43). Even trenchant critics of the BJP, such as the Trinamool Congress, supported the Bill. The Congress’ oldest ally, the Nationalist Congress Party, decided to support the government.

As for regional parties in the opposition, it appears they will be open to rendering issue-based support to the government, falsifying the repeated claims of opposition unity.

What was surprising were the “reasons” being given by opposition parties to side with the government. TMC spokesperson Derek O’Brien said they were a “constructive opposition”, not opposing for its own sake. They were, he said, supporting the Bill because it would help in “good governance”.

The Bahujan Samaj Party used to support the Congress-led UPA government from the outside but also threw in its lot with the BJP. Its supremo, Mayawati, made it a point to first categorically state she “had no disproportionate asset cases pending against her with the CBI” and her support should not be misconstrued as being under pressure.

The Samajwadi Party also used to render external support to the UPA but decided to align with the BJP-led government on the issue. Party leader Ramgopal Yadav made it a point to reject the insinuation by JD(U)’s K C Tyagi that the prime minister’s principal secretary, Nripendra Misra, for whom the Trai Act was being amended, was being rewarded for past services.

Yadav asserted he’d long known Misra as an officer “par excellence.”

Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed tried to shrug off the embarrassment, saying, "Those parties that had fought with us, it is for them to decide and they have decided in their own wisdom. They are separate entities."

It might be recalled that the UPA too in its last term, did not have the numbers in the Rajya Sabha and despite that succeeded in getting its bills passed through skillful floor management with regional parties. The BJP led government has taken a leaf out of the UPA book and all speculation of the need for joint sittings of both houses would not even be required, in the face of a divided Opposition.