Budget Session second half may see Opposition unity crack

New Delhi: The second half of the Budget Session of Parliament could witness a crack in Opposition  unity with the Trinamul all set to take on the Congress owing to their bitter rivalry in the ensuing West Bengal polls.

The crack in Opposition unity could help the government move forward on the goods and services tax. The second half of the Budget  Session starts on April 25.

At this juncture, the Trinamul is seething following Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s blistering attack on the outfit and comparing West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul supremo Mamata Banerjee to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The much-flaunted Opposition unity, which had repeatedly disrupted Parliament proceedings during the first half of the Budget Session, could suffer a setback with the Trinamul in no mood to latch on to the Congress bandwagon. On the GST Bill issue, speculation was rife that the Trinamul, which has 12 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, could support it openly or stage a walkout to facilitate the government’s move to push  through the contentious bill.

The Congress, which had joined hands with the Left, attacked the Trinamul with all guns  blazing. What upset the Trinamul was Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s remark comparing Ms Banerjee with Prime Minister Modi.

“Both Narendra Modi and Mamata bluffed the people. Both are autocratic and two sides of the same coin,” Mrs Gandhi had said at a recent public rally in Bengal. Incidentally, though the BJP has also targeted Ms Banerjee’s regime to stay afloat in the electoral battle in Bengal, the Centre has been somewhat soft on Ms Banerjee at the  national level.