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Common political agenda: Support when in power, slam when in Opposition

The farm laws, Aadhaar, DBT and GST are just a few instances of political parties in the Opposition taking a contrarian stance on issues they supported when in power

Opposition parties stage joint protest over farm bills at the Parliament premises in New Delhi on Wednesday. Placards of 'Save Farmers' and 'Save Farmers, Save Workers, Save Democracy' seen. Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad, TMC's Derek O'Brien, and NCP's
premium

File photo of Opposition parties staging a joint protest over farm bills at the Parliament premises in New Delhi. Placards of 'Save Farmers' and 'Save Farmers, Save Workers, Save Democracy' seen.

Indivjal Dhasmana New Delhi
Those protesting against the three controversial farm laws showed videos of the late Arun Jaitley and the late Sushma Swaraj expressing the fear, in Parliament, of multinationals directly buying produce from farmers and impoverishing them. The two leaders were in the Opposition then and the debate was on whether or not to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.

In the present situation, when the BJP-led alliance in power is defending its three farm laws, the opposition is flaying them, including the one on contract farming.

Take another instance. The erstwhile United Progressive Alliance government's agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had