The no confidence motion brought in by the opposition failed miserably, more so because of the Congress and other opposition parties than because of Bharatiya Janata Party’s doings. Cracks between the ‘united opposition’ started to appear as soon as the MPs started to speak in hours reserved for the debate, preceding the vote. Telugu Desam Party MPs which had been at the forefront of bringing the No confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, didn’t spare even the former Congress led UPA government during their speech in the allotted time. These attacks didn’t just stop with the end of the vote but continued throughout the night and surprisingly, from the one time close allies of the Congress. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson and close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav, astrologer Shankar Charan Tripathi attacked Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his antics in the Lok Sabha. The RJD spokesperson whose appointment had surprised many due to him being a politically unknown face attacked Rahul Gandhi for the ‘hug and wink’ in the Parliament. He also criticized Rahul for not knowing how to behave with senior politicians like Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
#ModiTrustVote | This kind of behaviour is not expected inside the Parliament from a senior Parliamentarian (Rahul Gandhi): Dr. Shankar Charan Tripathi- National Spokesperson, RJD
— Republic (@republic) July 20, 2018
The RJD spokesperson was speaking to Arnab Goswami where he unleashed the attack on the Congress party chief. It was surprising how the RJD, which acts like a B-team of the Congress at the national level, had allowed its spokesperson to go on a rant against the Congress. The Republic TV host Arnab Goswami was himself surprised and can be seen repeatedly confirming the credentials of the Tripathi. Tripathi on the other hand kept reaffirming that he was indeed appointed as the spokesperson of the RJD at the behest of the RJD chief Lalu Yadav himself, and the opinions which he voiced in the show were those of the party and not of his own. Tripathi also reconfirmed that he was an important person of the RJD ecosystem.
#ModiTrustVote | This kind of behaviour is not expected inside the Parliament from a senior Parliamentarian (Rahul Gandhi): Dr. Shankar Charan Tripathi- National Spokesperson, RJD pic.twitter.com/OBLDxscRQD
— Republic (@republic) July 20, 2018
As it turns out, Tripathi is not a mere foot soldier but had been appointed as the spokesperson by Lalu Yadav himself. Lalu, in fact, considers Tripathi to be his guru. He also places the accolades for changing his family’s fortunes on Tripathi. The earlier success of his sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap had been predicted long back by the astrologer. Lalu had himself defended the decision of appointing Tripathi as the spokesperson by saying, “You people (read media) will not understand him, he is a very good man,” he further went on to add, “He is a very intelligent person and he is also an expert on the Vedas.”
If indeed the RJD spokesperson was saying what has been going on in the minds of the RJD and Lalu, it raises further doubt over the strength of the opposition. There seems to be a rift between the Congress and its supposed allies and it seems to have deepened with the passage of time. The No confidence motion has likely done the Congress more harm than good while it did not hurt the image of BJP at all. For all the drama that the Congress party had thought of doing, it looks like it backfired and now even state level parties have started sidelining themselves from Rahul Gandhi led Congress.
