NEW DELHI: It was supposed to be a lacklustre -short Parliament session, but for AgustaWestland which gave an impetus to BJP’s campaign against the principal Opposition, the Congress. The Opposition cried that the blistering attack from the Modi government citing an Italian court order was meant to divert attention from its “meddling” action in Uttarakhand, and drought across the country. Though the 15-sitting session did not have any major legislative business, it showcased BJP’s fire power. It fielded MPs who appear to be regulars in the saffron party’s arsenal when it comes to taking on adversaries or negotiating a complex issue in Parliament. The Sunday Standard profiles five such leaders who upped BJP’s game.
Subramanian Swamy
Rajya Sabha
The irrepressible Harvard educated six-time MP was clearly the most watched leader in Parliament as he took on the Congress’ high and mighty. He did not hold back punches when he named Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in the AgustaWestland scam. The name was expunged, but not without deeply rattling the Congress, which holds the sway in the Rajya Sabha due to its numerical strength.
Subramanian Swamy’s nomination to the Upper House came for his court case against the Gandhis in the National Herald case. If other BJP leaders need the permission of the party high-command to air their views on controversial topics, he within a week raised the Ram Mandir issue.
Bhupender Yadav
Rajya Sabha
The soft-spoken Supreme Court lawyer Bhupender
Yadav has turned out to be BJP’s most trusted lieutenant in Rajya Sabha. Apart from heading numerous select committees to decide vexed legislations ranging from the GST to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill to Enemy Property. Yadav led BJP’s charge during the Agusta debate ahead of Subramanian Swamy’s speech. As everyone was expecting that the House would erupt once Swamy had taken Sonia’s name, it was left to him to articulate the nuanced position. He also moved a privilege motion against Ghulam Nabi Azad for alleging a meeting between Modi and his Italian counterpart to “fix” Sonia.
Nishikant Dubey
Lok Sabha
The 47-year-old MP from Godda, Jharkhand, Nishikant Dubey is among the top performer in the Lok Sabha when comes raising issues. He has introduced 21 Private Members Bills, the maximum by any MP so far. An MBA from DU, he spoke during the Agusta deal to explain the nuances of the deal, and bring out some of the hidden aspects of the scam to put Congress on the mat. He is known to prepare well for the debates he takes part in, leaving little scope for fellow MPs to question. By fielding him during the Agusta debate, the Modi government has shown its trust in an MP who does his homework. BJP’s team—Parrikar, Thakur, Dubey and Kirit Somaiya—played a good innings in debates.
Manohar Parrikar
Defence Minister, RS
The IITian minister is an outsider in Delhi’s power corridors. Manohar Parrikar continues to maintain his distance from the charms of Lutyens’ Delhi. The week gone by saw his two speeches in Rajya Sabha and then in Lok Sabha. If in the first one he read from a prepared text, he made amends to speak extempore in the Lower House, ripping Congress apart with his earthy humour. His accented Hindi worked in his favour as he cited Marathi and Konkani proverbs to attack the Congress. His LS speech came in for praise, as BJP discovered an aggressive speaker. If the first leg of the Budget session saw Smriti Irani becoming the face of the government’s aggression, it was Parrikar all the way this time round.
Anurag Thakur
Lok Sabha
The 41-year-old Anurag Thakur is projected as the youth face of the party when it comes to countering Rahul Gandhi or Arvind Kejriwal. The Lok Sabha MP wears twin hats as BCCI general secretary and BJP’s Yuva Morcha chief. He opened the debates on the AgustaWestland deal and on the JNU incident during the first leg of the Budget session as the party had to give a message of aggressive nationalism when pro-Afzal Guru slogan were allegedly raised in in the varsity.
Son of Prem Kumar Dhumal, he is often needling the Congress side whenever the Opposition MPs speak. He gets preference in raising crucial issues inside House. Despite the IPL, he is still seen in Parliament.