The lining up of the political parties in the house is quite revealing. The opposition consisting of the BJP led NDA and the Left parties have naturally come together to indulge in agitations both inside and outside Parliament. Although Parliament had discussed it in the budget session as well as on earlier occasions, it is a burning issue. The point is that the prices, instead of coming down, are going up and up. The recent fuel hike, for which the government is defending itself, has only added fuel to the fire.

The monsoon session has begun on the price rise issue with the government adamant in not agreeing for an adjournment motion and the opposition insisting on it. The opposition has built up a tempo by organising a bandh some time ago believing that inside and outside Parliament the issue should be kept alive.

The ensuing assembly elections to Bihar later this year and the 2011 Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and some other states have given a political dimension to the issue.

The left and the BJP had been having secret floor coordination since the beginning of UPA 11. The Left seems to have now realised that it is the anti-Congressism which brings them together while the BJP leader L.K. Advani had openly invited the Left to support all the anti-Congress parties. However, the Left had made it clear that it will only give issue based coordination as one cannot expect the Left parties to go with the BJP on issues like Amit Shah controversy or the saffron terror issue. It also wants to attack Mamata Banerjee on the train accidents. But price rise concerns all and therefore the Left parties cannot remain outside the price rise agitation whether they do it with the right wing parties or on their own. Tactically, evolving a non-Congress and non-BJP group, the Left parties have now come together with the TDP, BJD and AIADMK for a common stand.

The parties like the RJD, SP and Trinamool are also caught in a dilemma on the price rise. For instance, it is important for the RJD to win respectable number of seats in Bihar. With elections just a few weeks away, their voice is shrill. The Samajwadi Party is trying to deal with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's antics and elections to UP are in 2012. A sustained public show is required for the SP to come back and what better way than to take up the cause of the aam admi? Also since the passage of the women reservation bill in Rajya Sabha, the three Yadav leaders - Sharad Yadav of JD(U), Lalu Prasad Yadav of RJD and Mulayam Singh Yadav of SP have come together politically on issues which are of importance to them be it the backward caste census or price rise. The BSP chief Mayawati has already revealed her cards by demanding for a special discussion on price rise suspending all other business.

The UPA allies like the DMK and the Trinamool face a piquant situation. Ministers representing their parties sit in the cabinet meetings, which approve of the petrol hike or any decision to deal with the rising prices. Still they both have to face assembly elections next year. Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has been neglecting her ministry work to focus on the Assembly elections. As she has the public support going by the recent municipal elections, she has to show her concern for the rising prices. What better way than to give a notice under 193 (which requires no voting) for a discussion on price rise?

The DMK is facing some problem due to quarrels in the Tamil Nadu chief minister Karunanidhi's family with the ageing DMK leader fighting for return to power in next year's assembly polls. His arch rival AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa is waiting for a come back and has already begun to work on the winning arithmetic by getting allies for her front. So any stand of Karunanidhi will be to counter Jayalalithaa's attack and therefore the DMK cannot seem to be unconcerned about the price hike.

The NCP is keeping mum because its chief Sharad Pawar is the Agriculture Minister. The Congress holds him responsible for tackling price rise while Pawar shrugs it off saying the cabinet makes all decisions.

With such conflicting and incoherent agenda of various parties, the Congress is pinning its hopes on dividing the opposition. With a fragile majority in the house, the party managers do not want tot take any risks. While the Congress strategy may be successful on issues like Amit Shah, saffron terror, illegal mining in Karnataka, it is perplexed as to how to deal with the price rise. Many Congress leaders are not willing to believe the Prime Minister's prediction that the food inflation will come down to six or six point five per cent by year-end. The only hope is a good monsoon and a bumper crop and better international prices.

Opposition parties should realise that stalling the business is not going in their favour and talking out the issues will give them more advantage. But the media glare and getting a front-page space in newspapers is preventing them from debating the issues in the house. Since the beginning of this session, the mood of the opposition is not for debate but for confrontation and the government too is not in a mood to yield. At this rate, the Parliament will meet only in name remaining non-functional. The common man is helpless as it is not in his power to make his representative effective.(IPA Service)