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Journalism of Courage
The BJP may have a clear political calculus in staking everything on its campaign against the UPAs coal block allotment. It may think that by escalating this issue,refusing to let Parliament function,it can destabilise this government and possibly bring about a convenient early election. Then what? If the BJP manages to form the next government,does it think that its opposition will hesitate to throw its playbook right back,once the political gains of parliamentary non-cooperation have been proved?
Of course,the Congress,always a sullen opposition,founded this technique. When the NDA was in power,the Congress refused to engage in Parliament over accusations that then-defence minister George Fernandes was involved in a coffin procurement scandal. They made a similar scene over the Tehelka tapes. However,it is the BJP that has truly perfected the tactic of opposition-by-obstruction,by shunning parliamentary debate and making vague calls for accountability. In 2010,after the 2G scam broke,the BJPs insistence on a joint parliamentary committee to investigate the matter rather than the public accounts committee,and the governments resistance to the idea,effectively ensured that two parliamentary sessions were non-starters. Critical legislation was put on ice,and debate was replaced with shallow point-scoring in television studios. Now,the monsoon session appears set to go the same way,with the BJP and the Congress only hardening their positions.
