Congress proves to be no different from BJP in treating fellow Opposition parties

Congress party has repeatedly failed to win the confidence of other opposition parties to lead a coalition against the BJP

Hyderabad: The Congress party has repeatedly failed to win the confidence of other opposition parties to lead a coalition against the BJP at the national level.

This was evident from the recent oath-taking ceremony of Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah in Karnataka, where the Congress party could not utilise the opportunity for opposition unity and instead, chose to portray itself as the only alternative to the BJP at the Centre.

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Of late, majority of the non-BJP parties have been favouring a joint fight against the BJP at the Centre on different issues ranging from failed promises and hate politics to misuse of Central agencies and discrimination against non-BJP-ruled States among others.

Parties like Aam Aadmi Party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress among others have been constantly fighting against the Centre on multiple issues of people’s interest where they succeeded in garnering support from people as well as other Opposition parties. On most occasions, they have been allowing the Congress party to take the lead considering its strength in the Parliament.

However, the Congress is proving to be no different from the BJP in treating fellow Opposition parties to suit its interests. The latest example was Siddaramaiah’s oath-taking ceremony, where the Congress refrained from inviting several key opposition parties.

Though the Congress claimed to have invited 19 like-minded parties, it chose to ignore AAP, BRS and a few others who have been fighting against the BJP’s misrule at the national level.

“We assume the Congress chose to exclude us due to sheer pressure from their Telangana leaders, considering their political interests in the State. Our party leadership is also not interested in mere posturing and instead, prefers to fight the BJP on real issues. Several Opposition parties are in constant contact with Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to discuss our unified strategies against the BJP. The Congress not acknowledging our role will not make any difference,” a senior BRS leader told Telangana Today on condition of anonymity.

The Opposition parties also reciprocated the Congress party’s act in equal measure, hinting at their lack of confidence in the Congress to lead the unified Opposition. Of the 19 parties invited for the ceremony, less than 10 key leaders attended the ceremony, while others sent their representatives citing prior commitments.

Apart from the top leadership of the Congress, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin, JMM chief and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, JD(U) chief Lalan Singh, CPI(M) secretary general Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and MNM chief and actor Kamal Hasan, attended the event.

However, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction and several others sent their representatives, stating that their party chiefs were busy due to prior commitments. These parties’ decision to send their senior leaders as representatives rather than the party chiefs themselves is being seen as a sign of their dissatisfaction with the Congress.

The Congress party’s recent actions have shown that it is not willing to work with other opposition parties in a constructive manner, which has only made it difficult for the latter to unite against the BJP in the upcoming general elections.