Interview/ Manickam Tagore, AICC general secretary
THE GENESIS OF the INDIA bloc was in the opposition parties closing ranks in Parliament and having a joint floor strategy, says Manickam Tagore, Congress's three-time MP from Virudhunagar and its outgoing whip in the Lok Sabha. In an interview with THE WEEK, he says the INDIA bloc will be a formidable force occupying the opposition benches and the government can no longer pass bills without discussion. Excerpts:
Q/ The Congress and the INDIA bloc are a much bigger force in the Lok Sabha this time. How will that change the way the house functions?
A/ The Congress has been working since 2021 in close coordination with around 24 opposition parties inside Parliament. It is this floor coordination that formed the basis for the formation of the INDIA alliance. We will certainly take that forward. We have fought an election together and we will be a formidable force in the house.
The Congress has doubled its numbers in the Lok Sabha and the other INDIA alliance parties are also much stronger in the house now. Put together we were around 140 MPs in the previous Lok Sabha. We are around 240 now. But I want to make it clear that we all want Parliament to function. It is the ruling side, it is Narendra Modi and Amit Shah who have not allowed discussions to take place. They cannot expect the opposition to be their cheerleaders. They don't want any questioning. I doubt if their attitude will change, but I pray to God that better sense prevails.
They should allow adjournment motions on important issues. The prime minister should answer questions during the question hour. He should come to the house regularly and not just twice a year. The Gujarat model has been in operation, and bills have been bulldozed through the house without discussion. All that must change.
Q/ What is the significance of the choice of speaker this time?
A/ The speaker's role will be extremely important when it comes to the manner in which the house functions. We have seen how the security of Parliament has been assigned to the CISF. This is unfortunate. The independence and autonomy of the speaker's office has been compromised. We hope that the speaker will review this decision. Earlier, such decisions would be taken by the joint committee on parliamentary security. Now, Home Minister Amit Shah wants to control that.
Q/ Would it be difficult for the ruling side to get contentious issues such as UCC or One Nation, One Poll through Parliament now?
A/ We are witnessing a rift between the RSS and the BJP. Mohan Bhagwat and Indresh Kumar have talked about the arrogance of the BJP leadership resulting in the party not getting a majority. They do not have the numbers and have to depend on alliance partners. We have seen what happened to the three parties that stood with the BJP―the BJD, the YSR Congress and the BRS. They have all but vanished. The TDP and the JD(U) have a duty towards the Constitution and to the people.
Q/ Rahul Gandhi acceded to the party's demand to be the leader of opposition.
A/ In the election, I sought vote in the name of Rahul Gandhi, that he will lead the INDIA alliance and form government. So the people have voted for me on that count. That same sentiment was expressed by us in the CWC when the resolution was passed and also in the CPP meeting. We all know that Rahul does not run behind positions of power. But he took up the responsibility to unite all the parties and ran a superb campaign with the Constitution in his hand. We saw that Modi was going down and he was on the ascent.