NEW DELHI: The last day of the Budget Session of Parliament on Thursday saw a semblance of Opposition unity, with about 20 parties, including the Congress, TMC, BRS and the Samajwadi Party, participating in the "Tiranga March" from Parliament to Vijay Chowk.
In a show of unity, parties like the TMC, BRS, AAP and SP that had been blowing hot and cold on sharing the stage with the Congress on earlier occasions not only participated in the march but also the press conference to target the Modi government on issues such as the Adani issue, price rise and the alleged attack on democracy.
In his remarks at the press conference, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "The Budget of '50-lakh crore was passed in just 12 minutes, but they (the BJP) always alleged that the Opposition parties have no interest and they kept disturbing the House."
"The disturbance was created by the ruling party. Whenever we made a demand or gave a notice, we were not allowed to speak. This has happened for the first time in my 52-year public life. Never has such a thing happened earlier," Kharge said, adding that the government talks a lot about democracy but does not walk the talk.
BRS MP K. Keshava Rao said the parties on the podium had "distance and differences" between them but were now coming together.
"You have right before you all the Opposition parties who maintained some distance and had differences, but today you are seeing how it is evolving. We are becoming so strong that all the efforts to divide us have failed. We are today united right before you on the ground," the BRS MP said.
AAP's Sanjay Singh said the message behind Rahul Gandhi's disqualification was clear — one can attack the Centre but not Adani "for whom the government was working".
Interacting with the media, Kharge said that 18 to 19 Opposition parties raised the Adani matter and how his wealth increased to '12-lakh crore in just 2 to 2.5 years. "Why are you fearful of constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe even when the BJP will have its say as it will have majority members... Something is fishy, which is why the government is not agreeing to order a JPC probe into the Adani issue," he said.
The Congress president said the government did not answer on the Adani issue in Parliament and instead diverted attention by demanding Gandhi's apology over his remarks abroad.
