Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Sharad Yadav angry with BJP, Coalgate divides Opposition

NDA convenor Sharad Yadav angry with the BJP for its flip-flop on Rs 1.86 lakh crore coalgate scam busted by the CAG.  

He is rather seething with anger and other allies are also upset.

Not only the entire Monsoon session of Parliament was a wash out but it clearly left the Opposition divided and allies of the NDA find themselves in the lurch.

Encouraged by divisions within the Opposition, the UPA and its coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal have rejected  en-masse canceling  coal blocks.

The Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) would make its recommendations after scrutinising 58 coal blocks allotted during the period of 2006-09 when Dr Manmohan Singh was holding the charge of the Coal Ministry.

The recommendations of the IMG will go to Coal Minister who will act according to the rules and procedures or political compulsions. The PMO has also made it clear that only defaulters and non-performers would be punished. The CBI will look into fake documents, cheating etc.

So where does BJP stands here ?

NDA convenor Sharad Yadav is understood to have taken the BJP leaders to task at the last meeting of the NDA for damaging the cause of the Opposition unity on coalgate. “We successfully ensured Bharat Bandh twice on price rise and corruption issues in the past. The Left, SP, BSP and others joined the anti-UPA protest. We have withered away the gains of last two years on Opposition unity,” Yadav painfully told the meeting.

It was perhaps due to such plain speaking that Advani and Sushma Swaraj tried to find a way at the fag end of the session by asking for cancellation of coal block and inquiry. But it was too late in the day as the UPA didn't want the Opposition to unite again.

It quickly acted, ensured that CBI conducts some raids, strong statements are issued and parliament gets adjourned sine-die.
While earlier, the task of uniting the Opposition parties was handed over to Sharad Yadav. This time, it was L K Advani who took the command of coalgate tirade against the UPA in his own hands from day one.

Even Nitin Gadkari decided to make a 22-day holiday trip to Canada. The BJP stands isolated with Samajwadi Party going the other way and the Left and TDP joining it on Coalgate.
“The coalgate revived the third front rather than uniting the entire all anti-UPA forces" said a pained Sharad Yadav.
Incidentally, a scared BJP did not even allow the holding of the NDA core committee meeting either.