New Delhi: Monday’s terror attack on Punjab has put the opposition in a fix as they may be forced to listen to foreign minister Sushma Swaraj without insisting on her resignation.
The demand for Swaraj’s resignation washed out the entire first week of the ongoing monsoon session of parliament since the opposition wanted her to step down before allowing parliament to function normally.
The attack in Punjab, the first major such act since the Mumbai November 26, 2008 terror attack, may have given Swaraj a fresh lease of life.
Both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday adjourned after paying homage to the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who died on Monday. The session will now resume on Thursday as lawmakers have been given an extra day off to participate in the former president’s funeral on Wednesday to be held in his home district Rameshwaram of Tamil Nadu state.
Federal home minister Rajnath Singh was supposed to make a statement on the Punjab terror attack in Parliament on Tuesday which he will now do on Thursday.
However, since India has already accused neighbouring Pakistan of sending the three heavily armed terrorists who engaged security forces for close to 11 hours in a fierce gun battle, the discussion that will follow is bound to touch on the India-Pakistan relationship. Any questions raised over Pakistan’s suspected role in the terror attack or whether India should go ahead with the planned bilateral talks with it has to be replied by Swaraj.
“Our leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, has already announced that the Congress party is with the government on Punjab terror issue, though we criticised the government and termed the terror attack as intelligence failure. We are not yet privy to what stand the party will take as it would be finalised by our president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi,” a general secretary of the Congress party said on conditions of anonymity.
Kharge had participated on the Punjab terror attack in the Lok Sabha on Monday when the issue was discussed briefly during the Question Hour. He condemned the attack and blamed the Narendra Modi government for intelligence failure.
The Congress party leader, however, indicated that even if the parliament is allowed to function on Thursday, they may continue with their aggression vis-a-vis Swaraj since it has helped them corner the 14 month old Modi government.
Traditionally, lawmakers cut across party lines and join hands to adopt resolution condemning such acts unanimously. This means, the largest opposition Congress party may have to come down from its stated stand of resignation first and debate later in the national interest.
The Congress party is also under pressure from some other opposition parties to soften its stand on Swaraj and let the parliament resume normal functioning.
Swaraj had accepted helping the former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi procure British travel documents on what she claimed was on humanitarian grounds. The opposition says that since Lalit Modi is a fugitive who is evading questioning by the enforcement directorate on allegations of money laundering since he shifted base to London in 2011, Swaraj’s act of lending a helping hand to Modi is against propriety and she must quit for it.
Both Swaraj and India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have taken a stand that she broke no law and instead offered a statement by Swaraj and a debate on the issue, which was rejected by the opposition.
Many feel that the twin developments of Monday — Punjab terror attack and death of Kalam, one of the most popular presidents ever — may shift the focus away from the Lalit Modi visa row, giving Swaraj the much needed comfort.
