Opinion An obliging opposition
Where would the UPA be without the NDA? In serious trouble,I think. The Government could face a well ordered,ferocious critique of its policies and be brought to account for the many unresolved problems that India faces....
Where would the UPA be without the NDA? In serious trouble,I think. The Government could face a well ordered,ferocious critique of its policies and be brought to account for the many unresolved problems that India faces. One could start with Kashmir,the Naxal trouble,illegal mining in Karnataka,the by-now forgotten Bhopal fiasco,the double digit rate of inflation of food which has now lasted over twelve months and many other things. In any other parliamentary system,there would be decorous conduct and serious debate and the Executive would not be able get away by refusing to have a debate with a vote at the end.
Yet,the two houses of Parliament are paralysed. We see on our TV screens outrageous conduct. Even when Sushma Swaraj is speaking,her own supporters are drowning her out by constant slogan shouting,standing up or rushing around. This is not new. It happens every time the Government is in any kind of troublethe Opposition always overplays its cards,creates a hangama and the Government gets away with murder.
Of course,the UPA has a secret weaponsecularism. This allows it to divide the Opposition. Even on perfectly straightforward issues like inflation,the Left and the Mandalite parties cannot join forces with the NDA,lest the Congress accuses them of sleeping with the enemy. Imagine a world without the ever- obliging BJP and Congress having to face a secular Opposition. India has not had such pleasure for thirty years. There was a time during the Nehru-Gandhi years that even though Congress had an absolute majority,it could be put to test as Nehru was on his China policy. There were heated but well ordered debates with serious MPs such as Acharya Kripalani,Minoo Masani,Ram Manohar Lohia and EMS Namboodiripad who had the political clout and the brainpower to perform their duty as MPs.
Armed with the bogey of secularism,Congress can tame the wild beasts of the Left and the Mandalites. It relishes the presence of the BJP without whose help it may have to take note of what the Parliament says. It would have to stop neglecting the Muslims and deliver some serious redress for the poverty and deprivation among the Muslims. The BJP,of course,plays along with this as it has still not figured out a vote- winning strategy. Even so,the Congress is always careful to put it on its defensive,as it has done once again with the Sohrabuddin issue. The BJP has only itself to blame since it has never been able to bring Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to his senses. They need him for his populist appeal.But the more BJP appeals to its core vote,the more it loses the majority of the country. I know the story. Both the Labour Party and then the Conservative Party while in opposition,made the same mistake. It is only when you reach out to the larger public which does not share your core values,that power becomes attainable.
The larger effect of this paralysis is that Indian politics is becoming quite nasty and unnecessarily violent. Thus,it is not only at the Centre that the legislatures are de facto unruly and unparliamentarian. The provincial scenario is not much better. The scenes in the Karnataka Assembly where the Congress which is in opposition,held up proceedings,were even worse.
Elsewhere the picture is not prettier. A Shiv Sena mob can spill thousands of litres of milk in the presence of starving millions on the obscure grounds of helping milk producers. The best way the Opposition parties can protest against the adverse effects of price rise on the poor is to have a bandh which costs many casual workers their livelihood. In Kashmir,the separatist parties have had a fortnight of strike and the best the PDP can do to show support is to lock up the civil servants!
The consequence of such behaviour is that,once elected in office,governments can behave as they like with impunity and immunity. No wonder it is worth a lot of money to be in the ministry,any ministry at the Centre or the States in the largest free market democracy.
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