Parliament Monsoon Session: Go through the motion
no-confidence motion was analogous to a warm-up game. As in such matches, neither the current champion nor the challenger had 'winning' as an objective since the result — the no-confidence motion's defeat — was preordained. Consequently, both sides rolled out their wares, tested strengths, checked out what is and what isn't working, besides creating hawa in their favour.
At the end of this verbal skirmish, both sides claimed to have picked up more brownie points. It is inadvisable to conclude if either BJP government or INDIA Opposition succeeded in this, since the real battle will be fought in the 'people's court'. There is no denying that NDA-BJP in general, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular, did not wish to be dragged into this match.
On that count, INDIA can claim moral victory, even getting the PM to speak on Manipur 93 minutes into his 2 hr 13 min speech. But, by then, the entire INDIA brigade had ill-advisedly walked out. Securing Modi's presence in Lok Sabha and leaving him with no option but to address the House was not the only gain for the Opposition, especially Congress.
The monsoon session was surgically divided into two — first, from July 20 to August 4, when Rahul Gandhi remained disqualified as Lok Sabha member; second, from August 4 when his conviction was stayed by the Supreme Court leading to his return to Parliament. Gandhi is back as a pricklier thorn in BJP's flesh. The apex court made its displeasure evident at the judges, who heard the original case and later Gandhi's appeals, for not explaining why the maximum sentence of two years was awarded, which led to his disqualification as MP.
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