Gaurav Gogoi’s dig at Modi 3.0

New Delhi: The BJP’s stance on parliamentary democracy will not change as long as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the helm. But in football terms, the “wall of defenders” with over 230 MPs from the INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha is now bigger and more robust, says Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress.

Speaking to PTI editors at the news agency’s headquarters here, Gogoi also predicted that the NDA coalition government would not last a full term and said Modi’s leadership style did not inspire confidence that he could successfully complete the five years.

“I see that with the 236 MPs of the INDIA bloc, we will have a Parliament where they cannot rush through bills, intimidate us or suspend us. They suspended 146 MPs (last year), will they suspend 236 this time?” the Congress deputy leader said in the previous Lok Sabha.

Gogoi dismissed suggestions that NDA allies Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP and Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) had caved in to the BJP in forming the government. He said they had “extremely bright political minds” and one should not be too quick to condemn them because “only time will tell what their real intentions are”.

The Congress leader, who had just clinched victory in the Lok Sabha elections in BJP stronghold Jorhat in Assam by a huge margin of over 144,000 votes, said he did not expect the BJP’s stance on parliamentary democracy to change until Modi became prime minister.

“He just doesn’t have the flexibility to change his approach even within his own party… the PMO will instruct the Cabinet colleagues. Even now, his allies will continue to demand special status, caste census and the abolition of Agnipath, but I don’t think his approach towards allies will change,” he said.

“As long as Modi is prime minister, I don’t think their attitude towards Parliament will change. They will continue to try to bully, suspend, disqualify and poach players. But yes, like in football, earlier there were three defenders, but our wall (of defenders) is now bigger and much more robust,” Gogoi said during the conversation.

“That is our (the opposition’s) role and that is what the public expects from us, that is what the public elected us for and that is what we hope to achieve,” Gogoi said.

He said the secret of the election’s success was that the Indian people had taught Prime Minister Modi a “lesson in humility”.

Gogoi, the son of late Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, said that given the election results and the prevailing circumstances, he did not believe Modi was capable of leading a coalition government.

“Mr Modi does not even take his cabinet into confidence. When he introduced demonetisation, the finance minister did not know about it. When he abrogated Article 370, his cabinet did not know about it. When he introduced Agnipath, his cabinet did not know about it. So if someone cannot even take his cabinet into confidence, how will he take the NDA alliance into confidence?” he said.

For a coalition government to function smoothly, as was the case under former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, one must be open-minded, take an inclusive approach and have the ability to listen and be flexible, Gogoi said.

Asked about the BJP’s arguments against the Congress party’s claim of being victorious in the election, Gogoi said the BJP is not fighting alone but as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Congress party is fighting as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). It is from this perspective that the result has to be viewed.

“What was the difference between the NDA alliance and the INDIA bloc, a mere 50 seats. So why are we talking about two parties, why are we ignoring the fate of the Shiv Sena and the NCP (NDA electorate) in Maharashtra… why are we not talking about the NPP in Meghalaya,” he said.

“We fought as INDIA. Prime Minister Modi may have forgotten that he fought as part of the NDA. Now he remembers them with affection. Look at Uttar Pradesh, compare the margins of Rahul Gandhi in Rae Bareli and Prime Minister Modi in Varanasi,” Gogoi said.

Citing the arrest of opposition party chief ministers and the actions of the investigative agencies ahead of the elections, the Jorhat MP said the country had fought back through the elections.

He, however, added that the BJP was still unable to understand the lesson that the people of the country wanted to teach the party.

Asked if he thought the TDP and the JD(U) had not engaged in tough negotiations over portfolio sharing, the Congress leader said, “I think both Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar are among the smartest political leaders with an extremely astute political mind. I don’t think we should be so quick to condemn them. Only time will tell what their real intentions are.”

Asked whether Naidu and Kumar were the “Trojan horse” in the NDA ranks, Gogoi said it was not right for him as a former deputy chairman to comment on chief ministers and he had utmost professional respect for them.

“As I said, both are politically sensible and smart, and I say smart in the mildest sense, it should not be understood any other way. Only time will tell,” he said.

“As I said, if they really push for their demands and oppose the BJP’s position, will Prime Minister Modi have the generosity to take them along and listen to them?” asked Gogoi.

In the just concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJP fell short of a majority with 240 seats, but the NDA secured the mandate with 293 seats. The Congress Party secured 99 seats, while the INDIA bloc got 234 seats. After the elections, two independent winners also pledged their support to the Congress Party, so that the INDIA bloc now has 236 seats.