Mamata Banerjee meets Sonia, BJP blames Rahul for House slowdown

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday and reiterated the need to have “one-on-one” fights to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The government, on its part, took potshots at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, saying Parliament proceedings had slowed down since he became the chief of the Opposition party.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said frequent disruptions would make it unlikely for the “triple talaq” Bill to be passed in the ongoing Budget session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said Parliament productivity had slowed down since Rahul Gandhi became Congress president. He also ruled out an early end to the Budget session, scheduled to close on April 6. The Lok Sabha yet again failed to take up no-confidence motions against the government.

Opposition members, including the Congress and Left parties, said they were trying to collect 50 signatures on the draft impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, adding it could be moved in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

After meeting Sonia Gandhi, Banerjee said she hoped for a Congress win in Karnataka. “We want a strong political party in any region to take on the BJP one-on-one, so that it is ousted,” she added.

Earlier, the Trinamool Congress chief met dissident senior BJP leaders, Arun Shourie, Shatrughan Sinha, and Yashwant Sinha.

Her New Delhi trip has been a target of BJP barbs. Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said Banerjee was engaged in “doing politics” in the Capital, while her state was “burning” because of communal clashes after Ram Navami.

Banerjee’s proposed federal front, however, seemed to be taking shape.  

In Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravati, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu told the Assembly that the central government had gone back on its promises to implement the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and also do “much more” for the state.

Rahul Gandhi led a delegation of Opposition leaders to meet President Ram Nath Kovind to demand that the Centre file a review petition against the Supreme Court order diluting the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Kovind is himself a Dalit leader. Union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Thawarchand Gehlot, along with other National Democratic Alliance’s SC and ST MPs, met PM Modi to express concern over the judgment.

In Karnataka, the BJP was in for a shock with Murugha Mutt Seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru extending support, in a memorandum to BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday, to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s move recognising Lingayats as a religious minority.