‘Dramebaaz vs Neetikar’: How Parliament Turned Into a Theatre
Winter session of parliament on the first day was washed out (Image Sansad TV on X)
The Opposition may take Modi’s chastisement seriously. Rahul Gandhi needs the advice more than others.
By MANISH ANAND
New Delhi, December 2, 2025 — Temperature in New Delhi plunged sharply to force the people to pull out their pullovers. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to raise the heat to warm parliament as he counselled the Opposition against “Dramebaazi.”
Short Winter session of parliament seemed dreary on onset. Curtain raisers spoke of predictable — parliament detached from the people, the Opposition on the warpath, and the government loading businesses with bills.
Gutkha sellers dreaded the Winter session of parliament. Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman with a legislative proposal proposed a cess on “sinners.” The Centre will take all the cess, claimed former economic advisors of the incumbent government. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a public post on Sunday had questioned why the rich cricket body allows Gutkha advertisement in stadium.
But the Prime Minister wants the Opposition to be “neetikar (policymakers).” Parliament should devote to delivery, he reasoned.
The Opposition accused the Prime Minister of being the “biggest Dramebaaz.” Manoj Jha, the Opposition MP, argued the case for the label for Modi — “he brought terms Mujra, Katta, Mangalsutra.”
Yashovardhan Jha Azad, a former IPS officer, in a long post on X asked if the “MPs walked in protest to the residence of the Prime Minister to raise the issue of alarming air pollution crisis in Delhi.” He also sought to know if Ministers and MPs have deployed air purifiers in their homes and offices at the expense of taxpayers’ money.
Policy hawks argue that Niti lies in the domain of the government. Modi dismantled the Planning Commission to unveil Niti Aayog. Dozens of young scholars, employed on short-term contracts, assist policy experts in making Niti for India.
Political commentators have long held the view that parliament holds executive accountable. The Opposition, thus, by nature, cannot be cheerleaders of the government.
“Disruption is a legitimate tool of democracy,” Arun Jaitely said when he was an Opposition leader, while the BJP then paralysed parliament in the last few years of the UPA government.
Political commentators also assert that “drama drives politics, not just in India but all around the globe.” Boring personalities such as Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin become authoritarian rulers as they cannot win elections. They know no art of drama in politics.
But Donald Trump understands significance of drama as it brings colour in politics. He, thus, dances—on stage and red carpets. His videos go viral. Trump knows his voters are TikTok addicts.
Tejashwi Yadav is a super flop politician not because he is not trained enough. He fails because he’s an unworthy heir of Lalu Prasad Yadav who was a master “dramebaaz” of the Indian politics. By taking water tankers along with him to Dalit habitations, Lalu Prasad Yadav established a champion of social justice. He entertained. He made his followers laugh.
The Opposition may take Modi’s chastisement seriously. Rahul Gandhi needs the advice more than others, for the boring people don’t succeed in politics. Dramebaazi may bring better lucks.
(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)
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