Congress & AAP Not On The Same Page
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-06-26 15:28:29
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The opposition conclave in Patna, although a good exercise to break the ice, was not entirely successful as differences between the Congress and AAP snowballed into a major issue that may keep AAP away from future meetings. In the three days after the meeting, both parties have hardened their stand with the Congress accusing AAP of trying to 'sabotage' opposition unity and calling it an 'unreliable' party while AAP said Rahul Gandhi only talks about love (mohabbat ki dukan) but does not walk the talk when it comes to other parties.
The Congress has used strong words to rebuff AAP's wish asking it to take a stand on the Delhi services ordinance. It said that it will not allow AAP to put a gun to its head to obtain a decision. But is AAP entirely wrong? If the opposition is uniting against the BJP, it will need issues to cement the unity and project the BJP as the destroyer of federalism. Nothing is better suited to do both these things than take a firm stand against the Delhi services ordinance. But such is the position on the ground that Congress' Delhi and Punjab units want the party to have no truck with AAP and that is one of the main reasons why the party is not taking an immediate and strong stand on the issue.
But the Congress is also right. AAP cannot make it a pre-condition for opposition unity. The parties are not uniting for that specific purpose. At best, it can be one of the major planks on which they can join hands to fight the BJP but that can be discussed and a joint position adopted. To push the Congress to take a stand as desired by AAP is something that does not happen and will not happen. It is upon the other parties to mediate between the two and settle the matter.
But a solution is not as easy as it seems. AAP has been pushed into a corner after the Centre turned the Supreme Court order on its head by issuing the Delhi services ordinance. It needs the support of all political parties to stall the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA is short of majority. With the Congress not making its stand clear, and with the two parties in direct conflict in many states where AAP is trying to take over from Congress as the main opposition (in Gujarat and Goa, for example), it is unlikely that both parties will agree to come on a common platform. Things will be clearer if AAP attends the next meeting in Shimla (in Congress-ruled Himachal) in the second week of July.
