UPA does not enjoy a majority
Shahnawaz Hussain
The Congress-led UPA is a sinking ship. That its own allies are not happy with it is becoming more evident by the day. There is growing discomfort among the Congress allies, be it Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress, Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) or M. Karunanidhi’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

The Congress’ behaviour with its allies is the same as its attitude towards the Opposition parties and this shows its arrogance. Its own allies have disagreed with some of its decisions. This clearly shows that it doesn’t even consult its own allies on important matters just like it does not talk to the Opposition. For instance, it had to put on hold its decision to allow foreign direct investment in the retail sector. While the Opposition parties were against it, the Congress’ own ally — Trinamul Congress — objected to this decision and demanded that it be rolled back. The Trinamul Congress was as agitated with this decision as the Opposition parties. What does this show? The Congress should not forget that if it has any worthwhile presence in West Bengal right now, it is all because of the Trinamul Congress.
The same thing is happening in Maharashtra where the Congress ally — NCP — had given it an ultimatum on the issue of seat-sharing for the civic polls. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK is not in power and some of its seniormost leaders are facing corruption charges. Therefore, the DMK is under compulsion to continue the alliance with the Congress at the Centre. It is clear that the Congress has failed to keep its allies together. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government is not enjoying a majority and if these conditions continue, there are chances that the country will have to face snap polls. The BJP is carefully observing these developments.
The Congress is unable to get important bills passed in Parliament despite winning the maximum number of seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. There are many bills pending in Parliament just because this government doesn’t have the required majority to pass them. What happened during the debate on the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha was proof that the Congress is in minority. It could not get the bill passed as Opposition parties and the Trinamul Congress wanted amendments, since the bill was going against the principles of federalism. It was sheer arrogance.
The Congress should learn some lessons from former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He used to follow the true coalition dharma when the NDA was in power. While running a coalition government, one needs to follow the Lakhnawi tehzeeb of “pehle aap” and not the principle of “pehle main” which the Congress follows. In a coalition you should consult your allies on every decision like Mr Vajpayee used to do, unlike the Congress whose allies get to know about its decisions through the media.

(As told to Yojna Gusai)

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Congress respects its partners
Rashid Alvi
I must at the very outset reject as baseless the suggestion that the Congress cannot handle its allies. Before we discuss the issue of the Trinamul Congress, let me clarify the situation vis-á-vis our ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Election to local bodies and municipal corporations is absolutely a local issue. I do not want to argue about the number of seats that the NCP or the Congress may contest in these elections. A purely local matter like this has no impact at all on the alliance between the NCP and the Congress at the Centre. Whether we contest the polls for local bodies in alliance with the NCP or not will not matter at the level of Delhi; resolving such issues is best left to the local leaders.
Now, let us talk about the Trinamul Congress. I would not like to comment on how the Trinamul leaders behave but the Congress Party has respect for its leaders. The Trinamul members are part of the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Any decision that the Cabinet takes is based on consultations with all ministers, including those from
the Trinamul Congress.
As far as the controversy surrounding the renaming of Indira Bhavan is concerned, the opinion shared by most people is that any building named after national leaders should not be changed to that of another national icon. Indira Gandhi is respected by all Indians. She was the leader of the nation. Renaming the Indira Bhavan naturally hurts the sentiments of people at large. At the same time it must be stated that Qazi Nazrul Hassan has been a respected poet and an icon and the West Bengal government could have found any other building to name after him to pay him due respect.
State governments should take care to respect the sentiments of people. There is no other controversy with respect to the Congress-Trinamul Congress relations.
The Congress does not have bad relations at all with the third alliance partner, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Though one of the DMK leaders is in jail, the party leaders understand that the CBI functions in an independent manner and that the law takes its own course without discrimination.
The Congress has respect for its allies and there is no issue that cannot be resolved through talks. Any alliance is based on a certain programme, though different political parties have different ideologies. So, it’s very natural to have a difference of opinion on
certain issues. At the same time, it’s also very easy to resolve them through conversation and talks.
I must also state that coalition politics is quite new in the country and it will take some more time to perfect it. But I once again emphasise in clear terms that the Congress has no problems with any of its alliance partners.

(As told to
Manish Anand)