The Oppn is trying to pin the Govt on the mat on inflation, unemployment

Of late, there’s been some sudden stirring in the Opposition ranks. On the one side are politicians who are deserting their parent party and looking for greener pastures in a foster outfit. In this category fall leaders like Col Ajay Kothiyal (Retd), who was the Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate in the Uttarakhand Assembly elections and who has recently resigned from the party. Another one in the same category is former Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar, who quit the Congress last week and has since made his way into the BJP’s fold. Yet another is Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who has also parted ways with the Congress, saying during the ongoing Gyanvapi mosque controversy that the “Congress’s aversion to pro-Hindu policies” was hurting its fortunes. Interestingly, in his resignation letter, Hardik had mentioned that the senior Congress leadership was more focused on ensuring that chicken sandwiches for leaders who had come from Delhi were delivered on time. However, unlike Jakhar, Hardik has “till now” not decided whether he would join the BJP. Though these developments might make it seem like the saffron party is having an easy time in terms of the threat of desertions, it is up against another kind of attack.

A few Opposition parties, which have been for a while now lying inert, have discovered their voice and are jumping out at the ruling BJP in an attack mode. After BSP supremo Mayawati, who hit out at the saffron dispensation earlier this week, now Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has put the Union Government in his crosshairs. Taking the Government to task over the rising inflation and unemployment rate in the country, the Congress scion has said that India currently “looks a lot like Sri Lanka”. He also advised the Government to stop doing things to distract people since it’s unlikely to change the facts. Elaborating on his litany of complaints, Rahul also shared graphs of unemployment, rising petrol prices and incidents of communal violence, and showing similar images of India and Sri Lanka citing various sources. Hours earlier, Mayawati had raised the same points while lashing out at the BJP-led Government. She alleged that the saffron party was targeting religious places to divert people’s attention from issues like poverty, unemployment and inflation. She also claimed that such attempts would only end up weakening the country. Maybe they have a point!