Rahul Gandhi is back in Parliament and the Opposition is seeing this as a vindication. The Speaker took some time in reinstating him and the government got some flak for that. The Congress went to town claiming that the PM was scared to face Rahul Gandhi in Parliament, hence the delay in reinstating him and so on. This narrative could have easily been avoided if the reinstatement would have come as swiftly as his disqualification. The BJP really didn’t gain anything by delaying the inevitable. There was some speculation that Rahul’s reinstatement would happen post the Monsoon session. But that would have sent all the wrong signals and a decision was taken (wisely) to reinstate him at the beginning of the week. In fact, on a side note, given Rahul’s track record, he may have preferred to remain outside Parliament for that would have given him a martyr’s tag and an alibi for poor attendance.
Anyhow, Rahul’s return was plated up by the Congress and other Opposition leaders who lined up to welcome him. The No-Confidence Motion also got off to a good start with Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi making a hard-hitting speech on all issues ranging from Manipur to Adani; it would be interesting to see how the Prime Minister responds, because he is known to stick to his own script and not one choreographed by the Opposition. Those who know the PM state that he may not even speak on Manipur —leaving that hot potato for the Home Minister to handle but instead send out the message he wants, and talk about the achievements of his government in the last nine years.
While BJP MP Nishikant Dubey tried to bring in Rahul’s disqualification during his reply on the No-Confidence Motion by pointing out that only the disqualification had been stayed by the Supreme Court, the charges still remain, this is an issue the BJP should leave well alone. Just as the Congress too needs to move on from the Adani saga. Neither is an issue that affects the masses, and our MPs need to remember that.
