New Delhi: The INDIA alliance will push for the no-confidence motion to be heard earlier in Lok Sabha so that substantive Bills are not passed while the opposition is protesting, says Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi. In an interview with ThePrint, Gogoi says that the PM’s refusal to speak on Manipur inside Parliament pushed the opposition parties to move the motion in spite of not having numbers. The deputy leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha adds that the situation in Manipur will create a breeding ground for insurgency across the North East. He also speaks of the Congress’ prospects in Assam. Edited excerpts:

The opposition has moved a no-confidence motion in Parliament. Clearly, in the Lok Sabha, you don’t have the numbers. So, why move this motion?

For some reason, the PM chose to speak outside briefly and since then, continued to ignore Parliament. He has not come to Parliament even once, forget about making a statement on Manipur. In fact, on the other hand, the PM’s making all sorts of political statements against the INDIA alliance, going everywhere… We had no option but to go for a vote of no-confidence, knowing fully well that the numbers are stacked against us. 

When the no-confidence motion is introduced, the PM will be the last speaker. Is the INDIA alliance apprehensive that he can change the narrative around? He can also attack the opposition, apart from speaking on Manipur.

We are completely focused on our goals. The INDIA delegation of 21 MPs went to Manipur. We interacted with everyone; we understand the reality on the ground. That is something the PM does not (understand). He’s not even visited Manipur. So, yes, there might be a chance that he might talk about topics which are not relevant because I don’t think he’s been briefed adequately on the ground situation. 

Now that the dates of the no-confidence motion are known, will Parliament function now? 

It is unfortunate that what this government is trying to do is create a context in Parliament where the issue of Manipur is diluted. They are passing substantive Bills. Bills affecting biodiversity, affecting the Union Territory powers of Delhi… All of these can be discussed later. Today, the Supreme Court is seized of the matter of Manipur. The case regarding the atrocities vis-à-vis all women, belonging to all communities, has been taken cognizance by the Supreme Court. And yet in Parliament, we want to pass Bills on other subjects. They continue to rub salt on the wounds of the people of Manipur by pushing and delaying this vote of no-confidence to the last minute. And, we still don’t know whether they will speak about Manipur or will they digress. So, we will continue to press upon the fact that listen, change your decision, take the vote of no-confidence earlier, and then we can have a substantive discussion on other Bills. 

Some important Bills like the amendment to the IIM Act and the Forest Conservation Act have been passed. Some of your MPs have raised the issue that disruption should be avoided and the floor of the House should be used to discuss Manipur.

I don’t subscribe to that argument and that reasoning in your question, and the assumption in your question. Our party and all the parties in the INDIA alliance are united (in the belief) that Manipur is the number one issue. We’re all united that it has to be taken up under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha. Prior to the discussion, the Prime Minister should make a statement. In the Lok Sabha, all the INDIA alliance parties, including its leaders and MPs, are united on the fact that the vote of no-confidence should be taken up as early as possible.

One of the important Bills introduced in this session was the Bill to replace the Delhi ordinance on services. You had spoken against its introduction. We’ve seen the BJD and the YSRCP come out in support of the Bill, which means that it will likely be passed in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Does this mean that the Congress is caught in a precarious position since its Delhi and Punjab units had spoken against being seen as siding with the AAP?

There has been feedback from our Delhi and Punjab units, but I would not use the word ‘precarious’, nor would I choose the word ‘caught’. We are a democratic party and every state unit has the right to express their views and give their suggestions. At the same time, we have seen how this government is completely misusing constitutional bodies and is using positions of the Governor and the Lieutenant-Governor to usher in a political agenda. Our allies are saying the same, whether it’s the governor in Tamil Nadu, whether it’s L-G in Delhi, and whether it’s the misuse of ED and the illegal extension of the ED director. 

We have seen that this is a pattern, and this pattern needs to be called out. That is why we feel that in the matter of the Delhi Ordinance Bill — whether in the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha — we’ve paused our protest and we’ve lodged why we oppose the introduction. In the days to come, we will continue to press upon these points that how this government is completely destroying the fabric of the Constitution, which was outlined in Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision. 

Also Read: Bill to replace Delhi ordinance tabled in LS, shot in arm for BJP as BJD declares its support  

Moving to Assam since you’re MP from there. After consecutive defeats in the state polls, how is the Congress looking to revive its organisation and what’s the strategy ahead?

We had a very good Bharat Jodo Yatra in Assam. While the main Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi did not touch our state, we had our own internal Bharat Jodo Yatra. And since then, there’s been a very positive mood in our party. The Karnataka election has definitely boosted our support and presence amongst the public. I think the elections which are going to take place in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh are going to create another swell in favour of the Congress party in Assam and even the INDIA alliance parties. 

While the broader INDIA alliance has parties which are nationally recognised, we have created our own Assam chapter of this alliance where we’ve taken small regional parties along with us. We’re in a very positive shape, and all the factors are pointing out to the people how the BJP has divided, destabilised the North East. 

Since you mentioned this regional alliance, why not extend a hand to Badruddin Ajmal of the AIUDF for example? The Congress allied with the party in the past and there is this national narrative of the opposition coming together. So, why not an alliance with it in Assam?

We’ve tied up with Ajmal’s party in the past and that boomeranged on our electoral fortunes. There are elements within Ajmal’s party who are going quite close to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. In fact, Sarma, in a media interview, stated how he has good personal relations with Ajmal. We’ve often, in the past, seen legislators belonging to Ajmal’s party openly praising the actions and deeds of the chief minister in Assam. There is a severe lack of credibility amongst the people vis-a-vis the AIUDF party, and that’s an issue that they have to fix for themselves. It’s their own public statements and their own public positions which have alienated people from that party.

Delimitation is a big political issue in Assam. If you could explain to our reader why you have opposed it and why you think that it’s a political move.

When delimitation took place in India around 2007-2008, the entire process was done through a delimitation commission. It was our government in Delhi and in Assam. But, there were a lot of public protests, saying that we want the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be completed before delimitation is done on the 2001 Census. The Assam government, the Congress party agreed with the sentiment of the people and we appealed to our Union government to halt the process of delimitation. 

Most recently, we saw that out of the four states in the North East, where the delimitation has not taken place, the BJP, with seven months left for the Lok Sabha election, has introduced a delimitation in a process which was totally supervised and conducted by the Election Commission. This meant that there was no Delimitation Commission set up, which meant there was no consultation with the political parties, which meant that political parties were not part of the delimitation process. It was all done in secrecy by the Election Commission. 

We see that the draft that they have proposed seems to be a draft made in the BJP headquarters because it mirrors the BJP’s voting patterns in the last two elections. That is why we see this as an effort to help the BJP in the run up to the Lok Sabha election. It is a complete misuse of the Election Commission. It is a complete misuse of the way any state should undergo delimitation.

Last Parliament session, the opposition was asking for a discussion on Adani and there were disruptions. This time, it’s Manipur. It’s been done multiple times in the nine years of the Modi government. It’s been done on the Vyapam scam also. But we have seen that from one session to another, the issues are not carried forward. Don’t you think this gives an advantage to the government to set its agenda and to say that the opposition is not allowing Parliament to function.

You see the agenda of the Prime Minister is to render Parliament meaningless. This is the way he ran Gujarat when he was the CM. Suspend opposition lawmakers, pass the Bills in a din, hardly appear or make any statements in the Gujarat assembly. That is the way he’s running  Parliament since 2014. He inaugurated the new Parliament, but he’s absent. He makes statements outside Parliament. He speaks in foreign Parliaments like you saw in Washington DC, in the US Congress. But he doesn’t speak inside our Parliament. Records show that the ability of Standing Committees to scrutinise bills is going down. Chairpersons of standing committees are selected based on their proximity to the BJP. There’s an entire agenda of this BJP to render Parliament meaningless. 

And why I say ‘this BJP’, because this is a very different BJP from Vajpayee’s BJP. When he was the Prime Minister, he faced a vote of no-confidence. Then the numbers were stacked against him. He, like now, could have pushed the no-confidence motion 7 more days or 10 more days and passed Bills that were politically convenient and tried to shore up numbers. But he took the challenge head on. He lost the vote, but he had respect. The former prime minister, Manmohan Singh, used to speak in Parliament. When there was an issue in Assam with the Kokrajhar violence in 2012, PM Manmohan Singh spoke in Parliament. He spoke about the 1984 riots. It is this tradition of parliamentary democracy that India has been so proud of.

But why are these issues not carried forward? For example, why is there no mention of Adani in this session? 

In politics, you have to respond to the issues of the hour. We are responding to the issue of Manipur. How can we say that we discuss an issue of the past and put Manipur on the backburner? No. At the same time, Adani is not an issue of just the Winter session. That issue we’ve been raising since day one. Who do you think Mr. Gandhi was referring to when he said ‘Suit-Boot Ki Sarkar’? Who do you think the Congress party was referring to when they say that this government waived off the loans of 12 big corporates? Who do you think that the Congress party was referring to when we said that the farm laws are being brought in to support a particular industrialist? The theme of crony capitalism, the theme that this government is subservient to the interests of Adani continues to be repeated, and continues to be communicated to the public.  

(Edited by Tony Rai)

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