Congress mulls censure or adjournment motion

While the main Opposition Congress is planning to bring a censure motion against the government in Parliament next week, its strategy for the session could be broadly finalised on Saturday.

“Yes, we will either bring a censure motion against the government or an adjournment motion on either the atrocities against dalit or attack on Pathakot airbase or attempts to target university campuses and divide youth on nationalism,” an AICC official said.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will be discussing the issues and strategy during the Budget Session of Parliament beginning next week, with the top party leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad, A.K. Antony, and others on Saturday.

The aggressive strategy of the government and the ruling BJP has not only united the Opposition but created problems for “fence-sitters” in the non-NDA parties. While the Congress, the Left, the JD(U), the RJD, the AAP, the DMK have clarity on the issues and the target (the government and the BJP), the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress cannot afford to be seen friendly with the Modi government in Parliament due to the impending West Bengal Assembly polls.

Among the NDA, the Lok Janashakti Party, led by Ram Vilas Paswan and the Shiromani Akali Dal are not comfortable with the BJP line on the JNU and minorities issues while the TDP, which has yet to take a clear stand on these issues, cannot afford to send a wrong signal to the minorities in Andhra Pradesh. But the AIADMK, the BJD, the Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the NCP have yet to make clear whether they are with the Opposition on these issues or take an independent line.

Meanwhile, the growing confrontation between the BJP and the Opposition has already set the tone of the session and the meeting of vice-president Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan with the floor leaders in the coming days will merely be a formality, sources said.