M A I N   N E W S

First-ever Oppn walkout
FM’s proposals dubbed as crushing blow to aam admi
Faraz Ahmad & Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 26
A return to the pre-1990 scenario in the country, when almost the entire political spectrum from Left to Right barring a few exceptions stood united against the Congress, appears almost imminent.

Broad hints to this effect were thrown by SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and even JD-U president Sharad Yadav during Mamata Banerjee’s Railway Budget on Wednesday and the next day during the price rise discussion, and it became virtually evident today when together they created history of sorts in independent India by staging the first ever boycott and walkout against the Budget proposals.

This has naturally sent jitters down the spine of the ruling Congress as a minister was heard saying, “Among those who walked out, there were 46 MPs who supported the UPA government at the time of formation of this government.” He also pointed out that if these 46 were subtracted then the government would be left with a wafer-thin majority of just two. The arithmetic in the Rajya Sabha is worse. Sources say that the Congress may even consider a rollback.

The Congress discomfiture was evident from the fact that it called off its daily briefing on such an important day.

Apart from the fact that the BJP, Left and their newfound friends Lalu and Mulayam virtually echoed each other while reacting to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s proposals, they also indicated their intent to vote against the proposal, introduce cut motions and in the long run perhaps even hold joint agitations.

CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta, BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh all agreed that “the Budget puts hardly any burden on the rich and the powerful while it deals a crushing blow to the weak and voiceless.”

The immediate provocation for this walkout was Mukherjee's decision to hike petrol and diesel prices. Lalu Prasad was the first to object followed by a general murmur in the Opposition benches and then more noisy reactions, forcing Mukherjee to say, “You cannot prevent me from discharging my constitutional duty of reading out my budget speech. The countrymen have a right to know what concessions we are giving them.”

Having walked out, Opposition leaders Gurudas Dasgupta, Basudeb Acharia, Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh and JD-U and BSP leaders, led by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, jointly addressed an impromptu press conference, where all chided the government for the crushing blow it dealt on the “aam admi”.

Some like Lalu Prasad and Yashwant Sinha announced their intent to oppose this and vote against the move in the House. Others like CPM leader Sitaram Yechury readily offered to join forces with “secular parties (read Lalu, Mulayam and Mayawati) to start a countrywide agitation. Though CPI leader D. Raja and BJP’s Yashwant Sinha refused to read anything beyond a natural outrage of the Opposition in this, others like Yechury avoided denying outrightly the possibility of a joint Opposition action on the streets.