Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government have done pretty well when it comes to dividing the opposition or putting them in a confusing position.
Narendra Modi government made a consensus among almost all the parties on the matter of Goods and Services Tax (GST), something which Manmohan government was not able to achieve even in 10 years of their reign. However, now the opposition parties are thinking of boycotting the mega GST launch function which is going to take place on Friday midnight because if they attend this function, PM Modi will showcase himself as a leader to the world who has the ability to bring all the parties under one umbrella for a purpose which will be beneficial for the country. The excuse that the opposition parties are citing to boycott the function is that GST is being implemented in haste without proper preparation.
The final picture as to which parties will boycott the launch will be clear on June 28 when Meira Kumar will file her nomination papers as the Presidential candidate.
PM Modi and his government want every party to attend this launch function but as they are also aware of what is going on among the opposition parties, a personal invitation has been sent to the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the function.
This is a very strategic and clever move by the Modi government as Manmohan Singh was the one who made it clear to his own party that going against the consensus of GST should be avoided and he gave his complete support to GST. Being a staunch supporter of GST, it seems impossible for Manmohan Singh to stay away from the function, especially when he is invited personally. It puts Congress in a sticky situation because if Manmohan Singh is going to attend, the party also can’t afford to stay away.
PM Modi knows it very well that if he can bring Congress in the function, it will hardly matter whether regional parties like Trinamool Congress and others attend the function or not. At the same time, he will protect himself from any criticism on the matter of GST by Congress in future.
Smart move, isn’t it?