New Delhi:
At a meeting at LK Advani's house today, the BJP readied its strategy for the Budget session of Parliament starting on Thursday, the highlight of which will be a continued attack on Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for the "saffron terror" remarks he made at a Congress meet in January. And making good on the political bonanza that the main opposition party has been handed in the form of a 4000-crore VVIP helicopter scandal to attack the government with.
Here are 10 points on the BJP's strategy for the Budget session.
On the eve of the session, tomorrow, BJP president Rajnath Singh will lead a protest march to Mr Shinde's residence and demand an unequivocal apology. Mr Shinde had said at a Congress conclave in Jaipur last month, "We have got an investigation report that be it the RSS or BJP, their training camps are promoting Hindu terrorism." He later said he meant "saffron terrorism" not "Hindu terrorism." The BJP's attempt is to regroup its traditional Hindu vote bank as part of a larger Hindutva relaunch plan for elections 2014.
If the Home Minister does not apologise for his comments, the BJP, sources said, could even boycott Mr Shinde in Parliament, which will entail not allowing him to speak at all in either House by disrupting proceedings every time he rises. The opposition did this with P Chidambaram over 2G allegations against him for an entire Parliament session in 2011.
The BJP, which has said corruption will be one of its key planks for the 2014 general elections, will also leverage the 4000-crore VVIP chopper scandal to accuse the government in Parliament of fostering yet another scam. It has demanded that the government state who the beneficiaries of alleged kickbacks in the deal are.
Sources say the Budget session could see as many disruptions as the last two sessions of Parliament, when the opposition forced multiple adjournments of both Houses over issues like Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail and before that the coal allocation scam. Hardly any business was transacted.
The Prime Minister tried to pre-empt a disruption of Parliament yesterday by saying that his government is ready for a detailed inquest of alleged corruption in the deal for 12 Italian helicopters. "We have nothing to hide... we are ready to discuss all issues in Parliament," Dr Manmohan Singh said. His ministers too have struck a conciliatory note, even offering an examination by a joint parliamentary committee or JPC. But the BJP has not sought a JPC investigation yet and, sources say, might not demand one at all.
BJP members have already submitted several notices for discussion on the helicopter deal and Defence Minister AK Antony is expected to be a primary target; he will be asked to explain why the inquiry in India was ordered an entire year after the first reports about bribery surfaced in the media. Three months ago, Mr Antony had told Parliament that the government was unable to gain any information on the Italian investigation.
The BJP will also take on the government on its handling of the tension with Pakistan along the Line of Control in January.
It plans to demand the resignation of Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha PJ Kurien over allegations in the Suryanelli rape case.
The BJP will highlight its dissatisfaction with the government's fuel pricing policy.
The main opposition party has lined up several adjournment motions on various issues.
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