NEW DELHI, July 24: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may have to face an opposition-led censure motion in parliament during its monsoon session starting on Monday, the first major test for his 14-month-old government.
The move to censure Dr Singh’s administration was announced by opposition parties led by the National Democratic Alliance of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. It has to be seen if the communist speaker of the lower house will allow the motion to be pressed.
While the ostensible reason for the move was given as Dr Singh’s praise for some aspects of British rule in India, the opposition is expecting support from his leftist allies too who are unhappy with the prime minister’s recent visit to Washington.
On the other hand, even though the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has criticized Prime Minister Singh’s nuclear deal with US President George W. Bush, the fact that it has chosen to target some remarks about colonial history appears to indicate that the party may not be willing to slam Dr Singh’s pro-American stance too hard.
Reports said that the NDA has identified a whole range of issues, like terrorist attack on Ayodhya and Hurriyat leaders’ visit to Pakistan, to attack the government.
In view of elections due in Assam shortly, the opposition is also expected to target the Illegal Migrants Determination of Tribunals Act, which it sees as ineffective to check alleged illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
The government will also face the heat from the Left allies, who have sharply attacked its policy to disinvest 10 per cent stake in a major state-owned unit. The Left is also unhappy with the Manmohan Singh-George Bush joint declaration.
The prime minister’s implied criticism of the Iran gas pipeline project has also annoyed his partners.
“We want a full discussion on the statement of the prime minister in the UK,” BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj told reporters after the NDA meeting at the residence of Mr Vajpayee.
NDA Convener George Fernandes, flanked by Swaraj, described as an “insult to martyrs” the prime minister’s praise of some of the legacies of the British Raj and ask the government to explain it.
