Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, trying his best to play the role of Chandrababu Naidu of 2019, has called a meeting of the top leaders of opposition unity on June 23, but even before this meeting, it seemed from the attitude of the top leaders of the opposition that everyone has their own conditions. Those who are going to move forward for opposition unity only when they are completed.
In fact, the condition of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banja is that the Left parties should be kept away from the opposition unity. History is witness that whenever there has been an exercise of opposition unity, the Left has played an important role. In 1977, when the first anti-Congress government was formed by the Janata Party, it too had the support of the Left, while before this both the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the Socialist Party and the CPM and the CPI played an important role in the coalition governments formed in many states. Be it the VP Singh government in 1989 or the Deve Gowda government in 1996, the Left has played an important role in both the opposition unity. In 2004, Dr. Manmohan Singh was the one who took him to power, but Mamta feels that if the Leftists are her opponents in West Bengal, then they should be kept away from the opposition unity.
Although Congress is a big party, it ignores small incidents for the sake of opposition unity, but its perception is not good towards Mamta due to the breaking of its lone MLA by TMC. Interestingly, the Aam Aadmi Party has asked the Congress to clarify its stand on the ordinance brought by Vendra before the opposition unity meeting. In fact, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has taken an assurance from the anti-BJP chief ministers and party leaders across the country that they will oppose Vendra’s ordinance in the Rajya Sabha. Kejriwal asked for an appointment with the Congress leaders as well, but he did not get the time. That’s why now he is placing a condition before the meeting.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has made a very interesting comment about this meeting of opposition leaders. He said that ‘whether you meet or don’t meet, keep shaking hands. Keeping in mind the preparations for the next Lok Sabha elections, before such an attempt, it would have been better if these parties would have clarified their intentions a little by peeping into their own backyards to instill confidence in the public. Mayawati is asking the leaders active for opposition unity that till when the policy of ‘Ram in the mouth, knife next to it’ will last. While RLD’s leader in alliance with SP, Jayant Chowdhury, has kept himself away from the meeting, Telangana’s BRS, Andhra Pradesh’s YSRCP and BJD have already kept distance.
The truth is that when the ambitions of the parties exceed the limits of reality, then that party is not ready to compromise and no coalition can be formed unless the parties are ready to lose something. This is what everyone wants the other to lose and get more and more. Opposition unity is not possible like this. Minimum program and ideological unity is necessary for opposition unity. In fact, shaking hands with gloves never gives an emotional feeling. First of all the opposition leaders have to rise above their personal interests. (sp)
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