New Delhi, Feb. 26: The Opposition’s move to join hands and draw in the Samajwadis, BSP and RJD on the floor of the Lok Sabha on Friday rang alarm bells in the Congress-led UPA.In an unprecedented move, a united Opposition, joined by the SP, BSP and RJD, walked out and boycotted the Budget after Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the hike in Central excise duty on petroleum products. As per the present arithmetic, the coming together of the SP, BSP and RJD against the Centre might just threaten the stability of UPA-II. The combined strength of the SP, BSP and RJD in the Lok Sabha is 47.The UPA’s combined strength in Lok Sabha is reportedly 276, just four more than the magic figure of 272 MPs. With the three regional outfits supporting the government from outside, the combined strength of UPA-II comes to 323. Therefore, any move to withdraw support by these three regional players could somewhat disturb the government. While the SP has 22 members in the Lok Sabha, the BSP’s strength in 21 while the RJD has four members.That the somewhat dampening impact of the fuel price hike was being taken seriously by the government was apparent when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that the economy was strong enough to absorb the hike. He defended Mr Mukherjee’s proposal to hike the basic duty on crude and petroleum products and said, “The economy has the capacity to absorb this order of adjustments in excise duties and customs duties without generating a wholesale inflationary spiral.”Apart from the Opposition’s fury, there were also rumblings at the decision within the Congress. Some felt the move could have been delayed since it could send negative signals for the forthcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. “At this crucial juncture this decision should be kept on hold,” Trinamul Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyay told the media. The Trinamul, an ally of the UPA, feels the decision may have an adverse impact in the Bengal polls. Similarly, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and BSP leaders wanted to distance their outfits from the decision.Leading the Opposition charge, the BJP is planning to bring cut motions and oppose provisions under the Union Budget to censure the government for its “anti- people” policies. Officially, Congress leaders attacked the BJP for leading the walkout. Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and his Cabinet colleagues Anand Sharma and Salman Khurshid disapproved of this “unparliamentary” behaviour.Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj strongly defended the walkout. She said, “This is a move that will lead to a rise in the prices of diesel and petrol and hit the common man, who is already burdened by price-rise.”It is felt that if the Opposition and “supporting” parties remain united, the government could find it difficult to push through some of its Budget proposals.
Venkatesh Kesari