The Opposition did not reach out to fence-sitters like the BJD and NDA allies Akali Dal, LJP and JD(U) which have openly expressed reservations on plans for a nationwide NRC.

The Opposition united Thursday to launch a blistering attack on the government in Rajya Sabha on a range of issues, and moved an unprecedented 431 amendments on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, but “lack of coordination” resulted in Opposition members failing to force voting on the amendments, or turn the tables on the ruling party like they had done in 2015 and 2016.

The Opposition did not reach out to fence-sitters like the BJD and NDA allies Akali Dal, LJP and JD(U) which have openly expressed reservations on plans for a nationwide NRC.

Among the amendments was one which wanted the President’s address to express regret on the failure to “allay the people’s fear of a nationwide NRC and NPR”.

Many senior leaders, including Ahmed Patel and P Chidambaram of Congress and Derek O’ Brien of Trinamool Congress, were not in the House when the Prime Minister replied to the debate. The Opposition staged a walkout once his speech was over and did not move the amendments — this raised questions on the “silence” over issues ranging from the CAA to the Kashmir clampdown to the economic slowdown. The BSP did not join the other parties in the walkout.

The Opposition, however, was combative. Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma tore into the government, saying the President’s address was “disappointing” and “uninspiring” as it did not talk about the current economic situation and job crisis. He charged the government with “monumental mismanagement of the economy” and said it had embarked on a “grand sale” of national assets created over decades to finance the revenue deficit. The government, he said, was running away from the real issues.

Sharma said it was unfortunate that the government had listed the CAA as an achievement in the President’s address. “The jury is still out. The matter is pending with the Supreme Court. There is anxiety in several states,” he said.

Members across Opposition parties had moved amendments to insert lines in the President’s address stating that the CAA undermined the secular concept of citizenship, discriminated on religious lines and had caused hardships and anxiety to people.

The Trinamool Congress amendments, for instance, sought additions to the speech, expressing regret on the failure to “acknowledge the hardships and anxieties of people caused due to the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019” and “allay the people’s fear of a nationwide NRC and NPR”.

But the Opposition enthusiasm dissipated as the debate came to a close. The Opposition benches were not full when the Prime Minister launched a scathing attack on the “Congress and its friends.” Sources in the Opposition camp later told The Indian Express that some of the parties had decided to press for voting. And leaders blamed each other for the failure.

One leader said the Congress did not coordinate with other parties. “There was no meeting. There was no proper plan. But three-four parties — the Congress, DMK, Left and NCP — had decided to press for voting. But there was a sudden walkout. We had no option but to walk out with others,” an Opposition member said.

A Left leader claimed that the Trinamool Congress was not eager to press for division although it had submitted amendments.

“There is no attempt at floor coordination. We realise there is no point. They are in majority. We will, of course, move all our amendments and there will be a voice vote. But nothing beyond that. We are not going to press for a division, can’t tell what others will do,” a leader had said before the Prime Minister’s speech. But even that plan did not work out. The BJP has 82 members in the 245-member Upper House.