Will the current session of the Lok Sabha, which is witnessing turmoil due to Bhartiya Janta Party's demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the Coalgate, get adjourned sine die? As the deadlock between the United Progressive Alliance and BJP continues, the adjournment of the Lok Sabha sine die seems to be the only option left, notes Sheela Bhatt.
The BJP has taken the maximalist position on the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on coal block allocation. Now, to join the table for negotiation over it, the party can't afford to be seen softer.
"What else is the option before the Congress but to see that the National Democratic Alliance gets divided over the issue or the state leaders of BJP, also, are dragged into the coal scam? But both these political options will take time. It seems the political heat can cool down if Lok Sabha is adjourned sine die," says a senior leader of the Rajya Sabha.
In the political battle over CAG's report on the coal scam, the Congress has launched a counter-attack by daring the BJP to resign en masse and go for mini-Lok Sabha poll as the current Lok Sabha tenure is left with 21 more months.
However, the BJP has not taken up the challenge. But, in the game of "posturing", the Congress has tried to "expose" BJP.
Discussing the possible scenario of what could happen if 114 BJP members of Lok Sabha resign en masse, the report in a morning daily quotes a source from the UPA arguing, "They (BJP) will not be able to make an argument (to go for poll) even if they win all the seats because even a 100 per cent strike rate would only see them retaining what they had won five years ago. However, if we manage to wrest seats from them, we will have made a strong political point in the build-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections."
However, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has unambiguously clarified that BJP members are not planning to resign from any parliamentary committee.
It seems that the BJP has taken the impractical position to register their rigid stand over the coal scam as a part of their broader strategy. It is well thought out or not, only time will tell.
However, for the BJP, the process of "brand building" to suit 2014 Lok Sabha polls has begun.
BJP is testing the political waters, through their current rigid stand, to see if they can turn the CAG's report into a "Bofors" to demolish dwindling credibility of the Congress party.
While talking to Rediff.com, a senior BJP leader says, "We have gone for the jugular. By asking for PM's resignation we want to take the hard position over the coal scam. We won't budge. We want to push out softies who are occupying opposition space."
He adds, "We are seeing how in the 2G scam Congress government isn't allowing truth to come out. Our experience of JPC is very poor. They are only playing games."
When asked did the BJP think of resigning as mentioned in a daily today, he said, "We have no such plans. We have a lot many other options before us."
