The withering

Parties of the opposition,especially the BJP,have taken parliamentary non-cooperation to the extreme,escalating every issue,starting with the 2G controversy in 2010 and sustaining that shrill pitch ever since,for matters large and trivial. Entire sessions have been lost to this obstructionism. It is almost as if the primary opposition party believes it is never coming back to power so heedless does it appear of the consequences of entrenching this precedent. But the government is also responsible for this parliamentary drift. It is its duty to ensure legislative business,but this government has neither the will nor the skill to see its plans through. It cannot muster the minimal presence needed to enact its own showpiece legislation,the food security bill,one it was forced to ram through as an ordinance. Important reforms in pension and insurance are hanging in the balance. Whenever a matter assumes political weight,whether it is one of corruption,or a contentious piece of reform,or even a polarising decision like statehood to Telangana,the impulse is to abandon Parliament and posture in television studios or social media instead. The legislature loses the chance to grill the executive,extract answers,reconcile contradictions and help the country move on.

Parties do seem dimly aware of the problem,and the collective loss of face this entails. Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari called an all-party meeting to discuss these recurring disruptions,and several suggestions were made,from the possibility of shifting Question Hour and Zero Hour to giving smaller parties greater voice. There may be a case for these changes,but in the present circumstances,they will be rendered cosmetic. They do not address the core problem how to make sure that partisanship,conflict and competition,which indeed drive politics,do not destabilise Parliament,the highest forum to forge consensus. It may be time to consider how opposition parties can express disagreement and grievance more regularly without resorting to a no-confidence motion that may be set up to fail. Right now,neither government nor opposition is invested in the functioning of the Houses. This undermining of Parliament is not a matter of tactics,or a session or two. Disrespect for institutional decorum has lingering effects,and is likely to haunt the next government as well.