The protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Population Register have helped the Opposition find its voice and strength, at least in the Rajya Sabha where it refused to be cowed down by the polarising narrative that the BJP has sought to build around the people’s movement, particularly Shaheen Bagh.
Unlike in the recent past when the Opposition would walk on eggshells on any such polarising issue, the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address saw several leaders take the bull by the horns and pick up the cudgels for those protesting on the streets.
Through the two-day debate, Opposition leaders while trying to pin the government down on bread-and-butter issues did not shy away from discussing Shaheen Bagh despite efforts by the BJP leaders to project the protest in a poor light.
Even the Aam Aadmi Party, which has had its chief minister Arvind Kejriwal called a terrorist by a senior minister and which had wanted to fight this weekend’s election in Delhi on the strength of its government’s performance, asked the Centre to talk to the women protesting on the streets instead of stealing their blankets.
Accusing the BJP of vitiating the atmosphere in Delhi ahead of the elections and levelling baseless allegations to avoid discussing real issues, AAP MP Sanjay Singh sought to highlight the irony in the ruling party vilifying the women on dharna at Shaheen Bagh and elsewhere across the country.
“When the triple talaq bill was being discussed, the BJP and its supporters were highlighting the plight of Muslim women and stressing the need for giving them justice. Now, these very women are seeking justice and the government has refused to talk to them for more than 50 days. Why don’t you go talk to them?’’ asked Singh.
Congressman B.K. Hariprasad sought to reclaim Hinduism from the Hindutva advocates, drawing a distinction between the two. He identified himself with the Hinduism of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru as opposed to the Hindutva of Veer Savarkar, K.B. Hedgewar and M.S. Golwalkar. While Savarkar was leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, Hedgewar and Golwalkar were the first two chiefs of the RSS.
Taking a combative stand, Hariprasad said if the government is sincere in its respect for Mahatma Gandhi, then the Prime Minister and the home minister should apologise for the statements being made by BJP members against the Father of the Nation.
Dwelling at length on the protests, BSP’s Satish Chandra Mishra wanted to know whether the BJP would also call the Supreme Court “anti-national” if it declares the CAA anti-constitutional. Critical of the ruling dispensation’s tendency to bill all criticism anti-national, he condemned the heavy-handed treatment being meted out to the protesters who are reading the Preamble to the Constitution, and action being taken against children for school skits.
