New Delhi: The Congress has decided to get into agitational mode to corner the Narendra Modi government 3.0 over various issues weeks after the opposition INDIA bloc stunned the ruling NDA by winning 234 out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.
The NDA had been claiming 400 seats but was reduced to 293 seats with the main party BJP at 240 seats, 32 short of a simple majority. Within the INDIA bloc, the Congress emerged as the single largest party with 99 seats and almost doubled its tally from 52 seats in 2019.
A confident Congress then went on to choose Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha which was an indicator that the former party chief was determined to keep the pressure on the Modi government which was dependent on allies like JD-U and TDP for its survival.
"The party will hold protests across the country on August 22. We are demanding the removal of SEBI chief Madhabi Buch and a JPC probe into the allegations made by Hindenburg report against the Adani group," All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of organization KC Venugopal said after Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a strategy session with senior AICC and state leaders.
"Separate agitations over the demand for a caste census, Save Constitution campaign and against the 'creamy layer' concept for SC/ST quotas will be staged across the country," he said.
The Congress strategy to hit the streets weeks after it ran an aggressive Lok Sabha poll campaign on social issues stems from an assessment that the common man is still reeling under the impact of high prices of essential items, joblessness, reduced incomes, reduced savings, exam paper leaks and divisive politics of the BJP.
"The budget 2024-25 was a chance for the government to mitigate the sufferings of the common people. But they are just not bothered. They adjourned the parliament ahead of the last day August 12 as they feared the opposition would reiterate its demand for a JPC probe into the fresh allegations against Adani in the latest Hindenburg report," Lok Sabha MP Imran Masood told ETV Bharat.
"This is about protecting the interests of millions of small investors who put money in the stock market. The SEBI chief was looking into the charges against Adani but had herself invested in the group. This is a clear conflict of interest. She should resign and the Supreme Court should conduct a fair probe into the entire issue,” added Masood.
"On the creamy layer issue for the SC/ST quotas also the government could have clarified its position on the floor of the houses of Parliament that it was against the concept. But nothing of the sort happened. Hence, we have to go to the people," he said.
According to Lok Sabha MP Tariq Anwar, "As the opposition cornered the NDA inside the Parliament, the government suddenly brought in the controversial Waqf Properties Amendment Bill to polarise the voters ahead of four key Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and UT Jammu and Kashmir."
"But for a united opposition, the government would not have agreed to refer the bill to a joint select committee for further examination. At least they were not able to rush through the legislation as they used to do in the previous Lok Sabha where they had a brute majority. That is the power of democracy which has given a strong opposition this time to keep the government under check," Anwar told ETV Bharat. "It is time for us to go to the people again and flag the issues affecting them nationally," he added.
