Kolkata:
Just in case the Congress thought Mulayam Singh Yadav was being his inconsistent self by placing his party firmly in the opposition yesterday, his lieutenant and brother Ram Gopal Yadav has followed that up with some sound criticism of Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal.
Yesterday, Mulayam Singh Yadav chose a visit to Kolkata to say that his Samajwadi Party was fulfilling the role the opposition by questioning the policies of the government, which he said had no direction. The UPA government counts heavily on Mr Yadav's support from outside; he has bailed it out on several occasions, including the presidential elections recently and most importantly the confidence vote brought against the UPA-I government after the signing of the India-US nuclear deal and the Left's withdrawal of support a few years ago.
But on Tuesday he said firmly, "We are against their (UPA's) policies which they must correct. That is the role of the opposition and we are fulfilling it." The SP leader was speaking mostly about the coal scam that held up the entire monsoon session of Parliament and put the government on the mat. "You can see there is no clear policy and we don't know where they want to take the country. No one can say. We sit every day in the Lok Sabha. We listen. We are in touch with the government, but there is no direction," he told reporters.
Soon after, and as he is often called upon to do, Ram Gopal Yadav explained what his party chief meant. "We will support the positive things of the Congress. But we are opposing the Congress at the same time because we won't support the wrong deeds of the Congress. If they go in the right direction, we will support it," he said.
Making clear that the coal allocation issue was not one of those that would win the government the SP's support, Mr Yadav attacked Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal for saying that no coal block had been cleared during his tenure. "Somebody had already given the clearance. The minister concerned who has accepted it, and has signed it, is responsible for this thing. The minister who has accepted it is responsible for it," he said.
When Parliament was in session, the Samajwadi Party had organised a protest outside Parliament against the coal blocks allocation scam, along with the DMK and the Telugu Desam Party.
The SP taking up the space of the opposition will be a worry for the Congress. Mulayam Singh's recent alignment on several issues with the Left and other parties has given rise to much speculation that there are efforts to open a non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front before the 2014 general elections. Ram Gopal Yadav in fact said yesterday, "We pray that there's a Third Front."
The political symbolism of Mulayam Singh Yadav choosing Mamata Banerjee's capital to criticise the government will also not be lost on the ruling party. Ms Banerjee has been the Congress' toughest ally, and has often positioned herself more in the opposition than as a party that participates in the government at the Centre and Congress leaders have openly said that they count more on Mulayam Singh's support than on that of the unpredictable Ms Banerjee. The UPA, which has tenuous numbers in Parliament, has in fact seen the Samajwadi Party's 21 Lok Sabha MPs as a counter to the 19 that Ms Banerjee has, whenever it has looked like she will pull out of government.
In Kolkata yesterday, Mr Yadav had several good things to say about Ms Banerjee. He called her hard-working and a fighter, though he also said she was stubborn. Ram Gopal Yadav however said whether Mamata Banerjee would be part of a Third Front was a "hypothetical question."
The last time Mr Yadav and Ms Banerjee appeared together, they gave the Congress a shock in the run-up to the Presidential elections earlier this year, by saying that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a good candidate for President. It was seen as an indication that allies had lost faith in the PM and amounted to public humiliation.
That time, Mr Yadav was won over soon enough by the Congress and he was given pride of place during the government's annual report card event at the Prime Minister's residence. Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh was not his usual acerbic self as he said today about Mr Yadav's statements, "Mulayam Singh is a senior politician I have nothing to say on this. You can see the 1985 -90 and 2000- 2012 periods, you will find a similarity in the way the government is being attacked. I can tell you that this government will complete its term."
Yesterday, Mulayam Singh Yadav chose a visit to Kolkata to say that his Samajwadi Party was fulfilling the role the opposition by questioning the policies of the government, which he said had no direction. The UPA government counts heavily on Mr Yadav's support from outside; he has bailed it out on several occasions, including the presidential elections recently and most importantly the confidence vote brought against the UPA-I government after the signing of the India-US nuclear deal and the Left's withdrawal of support a few years ago.
But on Tuesday he said firmly, "We are against their (UPA's) policies which they must correct. That is the role of the opposition and we are fulfilling it." The SP leader was speaking mostly about the coal scam that held up the entire monsoon session of Parliament and put the government on the mat. "You can see there is no clear policy and we don't know where they want to take the country. No one can say. We sit every day in the Lok Sabha. We listen. We are in touch with the government, but there is no direction," he told reporters.
Soon after, and as he is often called upon to do, Ram Gopal Yadav explained what his party chief meant. "We will support the positive things of the Congress. But we are opposing the Congress at the same time because we won't support the wrong deeds of the Congress. If they go in the right direction, we will support it," he said.
Making clear that the coal allocation issue was not one of those that would win the government the SP's support, Mr Yadav attacked Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal for saying that no coal block had been cleared during his tenure. "Somebody had already given the clearance. The minister concerned who has accepted it, and has signed it, is responsible for this thing. The minister who has accepted it is responsible for it," he said.
When Parliament was in session, the Samajwadi Party had organised a protest outside Parliament against the coal blocks allocation scam, along with the DMK and the Telugu Desam Party.
The SP taking up the space of the opposition will be a worry for the Congress. Mulayam Singh's recent alignment on several issues with the Left and other parties has given rise to much speculation that there are efforts to open a non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front before the 2014 general elections. Ram Gopal Yadav in fact said yesterday, "We pray that there's a Third Front."
The political symbolism of Mulayam Singh Yadav choosing Mamata Banerjee's capital to criticise the government will also not be lost on the ruling party. Ms Banerjee has been the Congress' toughest ally, and has often positioned herself more in the opposition than as a party that participates in the government at the Centre and Congress leaders have openly said that they count more on Mulayam Singh's support than on that of the unpredictable Ms Banerjee. The UPA, which has tenuous numbers in Parliament, has in fact seen the Samajwadi Party's 21 Lok Sabha MPs as a counter to the 19 that Ms Banerjee has, whenever it has looked like she will pull out of government.
In Kolkata yesterday, Mr Yadav had several good things to say about Ms Banerjee. He called her hard-working and a fighter, though he also said she was stubborn. Ram Gopal Yadav however said whether Mamata Banerjee would be part of a Third Front was a "hypothetical question."
The last time Mr Yadav and Ms Banerjee appeared together, they gave the Congress a shock in the run-up to the Presidential elections earlier this year, by saying that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a good candidate for President. It was seen as an indication that allies had lost faith in the PM and amounted to public humiliation.
That time, Mr Yadav was won over soon enough by the Congress and he was given pride of place during the government's annual report card event at the Prime Minister's residence. Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh was not his usual acerbic self as he said today about Mr Yadav's statements, "Mulayam Singh is a senior politician I have nothing to say on this. You can see the 1985 -90 and 2000- 2012 periods, you will find a similarity in the way the government is being attacked. I can tell you that this government will complete its term."
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