Quo Vadis NaMo?

Many in the BJP would want Narendra Modi to be the PM candidate in the next general elections. The JD(U) with an eye on its Muslim supporters is extremely unhappy with this idea and Nitish Kumar has made some not-so-subtle remarks to this effect.

Now Modi is in extremely troubled waters. First a BJP MLA has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for the Naroda Patiya massacre. Next Modi is also under flak for his remarks saying that malnutrition is because of girls becoming figure-conscious. The BJP which has been on the offensive for the last few days on the coal "scam" has suddenly been forced to stop and think. Modi is already facing opposition from non-Congress sections in Gujarat (read Keshubhai Patel who has put up his own party). It remains to be seen if and how Modi will extricate himself from this situation.

Coming to the coal scam the government is increasingly being painted into a corner. First came the CAG report. Then Chidambaram was accused of painting a "zero-loss" portrait a la Kapil Sibal on the 2G issue. Recently it has come to light how Subodh Kant Sahai recommended that a company of which his brother was a director be allocated coal. Now the coal ministry itself is planning to cancel allocation of those companies which have not been able to develop their allocations. All of this is adding ammunition to the opposition to further take on the government.

However the opposition is not justified in holding Parliament to ransom. They are elected representatives and are responsible to their respective electorates. Let Parliament function. The issues should be taken up on the floor of the house. Beyond this they can always take the issues up in public. Does the opposition believe that the PM will actually resign? Looking beyond the protests it might also appear the opposition is trying to drown out the issue as apparently some non-Congress states had also opposed auctioning of coal blocks.