SAD Quits NDA: No Opposition From AP

With the 23-year-old ally Shiromani Akali quitting the BJP-led NDA, there are doubts if there is no party in Andhra Pradesh having the guts to oppose and question the Centre. Apparently, the answer seems to be a grim ‘yes’.

Addressing the media, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said that they had snapped ties with the NDA in protest against the anti-farmer decisions taken by the Centre. “Protecting the interests and welfare of the farmers is our priority,” he asserted. By parting ways with the BJP, the SAD has sent a message that people’s interests mattered most than vested interests.

Badal’s announcement has created ripples in Andhra Pradesh because political analysts feel that neither the YCP nor the TDP have the voice to question the Centre on the controversial farm bills. While Punjab is able to register its resentment, both the ruling and Opposition parties in AP seem to wagging their tails to what the Centre says, not uttering even a word in denial.

This is because the NDA does not need the support of MPs of either parties in the Lok Sabha as the BJP has more than sufficient numbers. Coming to the Rajya Sabha, the YCP has 6 MPs and the NDA needs their support while passing bills.

Wrong signals

However, the YCP and TDP had sent wrong signals to the people by calmly voting in favour of the controversial farm bills even while the farmers have taken to the streets saying that the legislations were detrimental to their interests.

Even in the case of Citizenship Amedment Bill (CAB), the YCP MPs voted in favour of it in the Lok Sabha and days later, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief S.B. Amzath Basha, taking a U-turn, said that the state government would not support the and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Mohammed Farooq Shubli, president of Andhra Pradesh Muslim Hakkula Parirakshana Samithi, accused the CM of playing a double role by voting for the CAA in the parliament and opposing the NRC outside.

Even the TDP had supported the CAB as the party supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu was trying to get close to the Narendra Modi-2.0 government by voting in favour of the Bill as it would help him combat his invincible rival with renewed vigour.

TRS opposes CAA, NRC, power bill

However, TRS MPs of neighbouring Telangana had voted against the CAB and NRC saying they were detrimental to the interests of the Muslims.

The TRS has also strongly opposed the Electricity (Amendment) Bill. The TS government conveyed its opposition to the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 to Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R.K. Singh.

“As ‘electricity’ is in the Concurrent List (subjects administered jointly by the central and state governments) of the Constitution, the Centre cannot impose its will on states or approve it (bill) without their approval or consent,” government sources said.

TRS president and TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is a close friend of AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the latter considers KCR as an ideal politician. However, when it came to the Bills introduced by the Centre, the TRS and YCP seem to be taking different stands, based on their vested interests.

Corruption cases

There is buzz on social media that the YCP, despite the presence of six MPs in the Rajya Sabha, is extending unwarranted support to the NDA only to avoid controversy with the powers that be at the Centre as the party chief and AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is mired in corruption cases. By raising voice against the farm bills or any other ordinances, the YCP fears it would unnecessarily invite the wrath of the BJP leaders and authorities at the Centre.

There are several CBI cases registered against Jagan Mohan Reddy for possessing disproportionate assets and as the public knows the central investigating agency is more like a puppet in the hands of the central government. Pricking the Centre would lead to unnecessary trouble as CBI investigation would be expedited into cases even if they had been shelved some time ago.

Unconditional support

It is for the same reason that Jagan had stood in support of the NDA even when he was in the opposition in the AP government. The AP public also know that the disproportionate assets cases against Jagan were making him submit to the Centre unconditionally. While a few cases are still being investigated by the CBI, a few of them are pending in the court. The public are also aware that Jagan can never act independently until all the cases against him, those under investigation by the CBI and those pending in the courts, are resolved.

Meagre numbers

Political observers feel that the TDP too is in a similar situation. While the YCP is fearing that investigation into cases against Jagan would be expedited, the TDP has only one MP in the Rajya Sabha, whose vote would not have any impact while passing bills. Even if the TDP opposed a bill, the party would not be able to express it in the Parliament as the lone MP cannot raise his voice.

Moreover, the ruling YCP is trying to get close to the BJP-led NDA and if the TDP keeps on annoying the NDA, party supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu fears that it would only make the rivals get more closer.

Mute spectators

Apart from these arguments, there is more to the TDP remaining silent. If the party has to stop Jagan from taking extreme decisions in the state, the TDP has to maintain cordial relations with the Centre, so that the central government would act as a deterrent.

In the wake of all these considerations, both the YCP and the TDP have been supporting the NDA even without any plea from the leaders at the Centre.

The Jana Sena too is like a mute spectator having no say on any issue as it had already into an alliance with the NDA. Instead of opposing the farm bills, the JS is trying to pacify the farmers by trying to put forward some explanation.