The Congress, energised by the return of its young leader, Rahul Gandhi, led the Opposition charge in Parliament in the opening week of the second half of the budget session. It pinned down the Modi government on issues ranging from the controversial Land Ordinance and net neutrality to the latter’s inability -- or lack of desire -- to check vandalisation of churches and a continuing spate of communal statements.
The BJP’s parliamentary managers were taken aback when the newly-combative Congress led an Opposition walkout in the Lok Sabha on Friday to protest against the surreptitious manner in which the government was attempting to push through the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 whose passage will see the Goods and Services Tax replace the plethora of taxes currently in place. This is especially so as the BJP government had believed it could bank on the Congress to back this Bill, as the latter had introduced it during UPA rule.
Focus on key BillsFor the BJP-led NDA government, that needs to get all financial business related to the General Budget and Railway Budget completed before the end of the session, the focus, however, is on the three key Bills relating to land acquisition, putting in place a goods and services tax and measures to tackle the generation of black money.
The NDA government strongly believes that the changes it wishes to bring in the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, doing away with the consent clause and social impact assessment, will help in ease of business and move its development agenda forward.
Secondly, as it comes to the end of its first year in government, official sources said, it is very keen to claim that it has succeeded in taking what has been described as the most significant reforms initiative since Independence – enacting the GST Bill.
Thirdly, it needs to counter the Opposition’s taunt that it has failed to deliver on its electoral promise to tackle black money by pushing the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill 2015 through as well.
The last two months following its rout in the Delhi elections has seen the narrative changing for the BJP.
The Opposition’s offensive on the Land Bill, combined with the government’s tardiness in tackling the impact of unseasonal rains on farmers, its failure to increase the MSP for certain crops, and the hike in urea prices has helped create an anti-farmer image of the government.
Many BJP MPs -- especially those from rural constituencies -- are unhappy with this state of affairs, but the government has set its sights on a Bill that will help send a positive message to industry.
Apart from the pro-corporate image that it has acquired — underscored this week by the popularity of Mr. Gandhi’s acerbic jibe of Mr. Modi leading a “suit-boot ki sarkar,” it is also acquiring the reputation of a government that is not being able to move its reforms agenda at the speed it had promised.
