Opinion Government’s burden

An impasse has built up in the Upper House of Parliament, with the Opposition insisting that the prime minister make a statement on the conversion issue, and the government refusing to give in to that demand. The issue itself is an important and sensitive one, and arguably deserving of prime ministerial intervention. Yet, the current standstill in the Rajya Sabha is also about something else. It speaks of a pattern that may well repeat itself in Parliament sessions in the foreseeable future. This is a government that sits more comfortably in the Lok Sabha than any in the last three decades but it is also one that is heavily outnumbered by the Opposition in the Upper House. This means that on crucial and controversial issues, while it is assured of relative smooth sailing in the Lok Sabha, it is all too vulnerable to the Opposition’s challenge in the Upper House. The Modi government will have to find a way, therefore, to engage and negotiate with the Opposition, to persuade it or divide it, instead of simply complaining that it is holding up parliamentary business.

The responsibility for the smooth or efficient functioning of the House rests, in the last instance, on the government of the day, not the Opposition. This was something the BJP did not tire of reminding the Congress of not so long ago, when the roles were reversed and the BJP was playing the obstructionist Opposition to the UPA. It would do well to acknowledge its burden now. It is nearly the end of the winter session, and the six-month-old Modi government must have a keen sense of the work undone. Key reform bills await the legislative imprimatur — such as the insurance bill and the constitutional amendment bill to begin the process to implement the GST. Several bills that have been passed by the Lok Sabha, like the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014, which will replace the coal ordinance, have still to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha. The government has little time to lose if it wants to fulfil the expectations that brought it its large mandate.

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This is not the time to trade accusations or exhume old circulars issued in a Congress regime — as the government has tried to do in its attempt to blunt the Opposition’s offensive on the controversy stirred up by the directive to Navodayas to remain open on Christmas day. When things get tough, and even when the going is good, the Modi government must acknowledge that it cannot go it alone, that it will need to cultivate the patience, generosity and skill required for negotiating its way.