Cong’s solo protest rally upsets JD(U)

Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

In less than a month after Sonia Gandhi led a 14-party march to Rashtrapati Bhawan against the proposed amendments to the land acquisition Act, fissures have developed in the Opposition camp over the Congress party’s plan to go solo with the protest, at least for a while.

The JD(U), which played a key role in organising the March 17 protest, is upset over the Congress deciding to hold a mega protest rally all by itself at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan here on April 19.

On one hand, the rally would mark the return of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi after a 51-day leave, and on the other, it would “repackage” the party in an agitational mould against the Narendra Modi government.

While the Congress might have its own compulsions for embarking on this programme, the perception of JD(U) was different.

“It is a pity that Congress has broken ranks with other parties in such a short time,” a JD(U) source said. “We had hoped that after having seen the success of the march, the Congress would try to consolidate the unity of the 14 parties which had come together against land bill,” the source said.

Sources pointed out that several opposition parties, such as NCP, TMC, AAP and INLD had reservations with the Congress taking the lead in the protest march. “However, everybody came around to challenge the BJP. In this backdrop, the Congress would have been better advised to reach out to every opposition party, forge a common strategy and set the stage for a renewed fight against the bill in Rajya Sabha,” they said.

Source:: Indian Express