House radicalism

Why government and opposition need to give each other a chance.

In the wake of the WikiLeaks revelation about an American diplomats cable claiming to have seen chests of cash meant to purchase MPs votes on July 22,2008 during the confidence vote in Parliament,a political storm was on the cards. And it came. The two Houses were thrown into serial adjournments,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a statement in Lok Sabha,but there is still no indication that the fire is being doused.

The opposition BJP has decided to raise its rhetoric targeting the prime minister and move a privilege motion against him in Parliament. While the opposition has every right to choose how to conduct its politics,the BJP should pause and ask itself if routine all-or-nothing political adventurism,focused on a single objective whose cause and consequence have not been sufficiently analysed,does not amount to radicalism. The government too should consider the costs of not reaching out more meaningfully to avert disruptions.

Amidst the political din in New Delhi,a fundamental fact is being overlooked or insufficiently considered. Free societies are witnessing their politics morph with the information that newer sources are putting out. The uncertain nature of such information in volume and content is compounded by its rawness and randomness. Which is not to say that these dont provide valuable leads even as the veracity invites debate,but that the debate itself should be more engaged in determining the nature of the facts in currency. For that to happen,political parties have to re-evaluate their politics and how it affects the nations political discourse. Above all,unverified and incomplete information cannot be acted upon to declare all-or-nothing,absolutist wars something that the Congress has done earlier in opposition and the BJP is doing now. Parliament must function this budget session,after the recently washed out winter session. The loss of day upon day to adjournments cannot become the new normal. A parliamentary system cannot deliver its full promise without a basic agreement between government and opposition on how to keep the House functioning and responsive to the issues of the day.