NEW DELHI: There was a packed house and a jubilant atmosphere when opposition politicians met at Congress president Mallikarjun Haq’s chamber the next day. The leader lauded the unity of all parties in the Indian bloc for defeating the BJP government’s constitutional amendment on delimitation. The opposition believes the BJP has suffered a legislative hit, damaging the aura of invincibility it has crafted over the years by taking Panchayat polls as seriously as assembly elections. The Opposition is confident that the BJP’s attempt to portray the rival party as anti-women will not succeed as it clearly raised its arguments on “delimitation and gerrymandering” to the people on the eve of the Parliament session and during the two days of debate in the Lok Sabha that followed.
A casual remark from Congress party veteran Sonia Gandhi at the outset – “Why is everyone so quiet” – sparked a banter that led to one member after another expressing their views on “victory” and its implications. An attendee told TOI, “The EU feels energized. Everyone is happy as coordination and cohesion among allies have been re-established.” Apart from Sonia, the full house included Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), Supriya Sule (NCP), Mahua Maji (JMM), NK Premachandran (RSP), Sandosh Kumar (CPI), KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Gaurav Gogoi, Manickam Tagore, Naseer Hussain (Congress), TMC’s Derek O’Brien and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Mian Altaf Ahmad (NC), etc. The opposition believes that while the bill has come as a shock to the BJP, it should now be careful to send a message that the defeated bill deals with delimitation issues, which could harm the national interest. Many specifically suggested that they should avoid the BJP’s pitfalls regarding women’s reservation. With multiple bloc parties in India contesting elections and fighting each other, some suggested they should hold separate public events to explain the issue to people. The alliance decided to avoid any joint performances on the subject. Nari Vandan Adhiniyam said the opposition will now press for the implementation of the 2023 Bill as part of its campaign to suppress the BJP campaign. Notification of its implementation this week during a parliamentary debate has thrust the bill into the spotlight. As part of the pressure, the opposition parties are likely to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the law be implemented from the 2029 elections.
