House battleground leaves Parliament in gridlock
Protest in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday
The Chief Justice of India NV Ramanna has lamented the squeeze in the space for debate and dialogue in the Parliament. But his is a case of sipping coffee too late in the evening, for the political space in India is less of democratic dialogue, but a battleground where the foe has to be humbled and humiliated.
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, July 20: The first three days of the Monsoon session of Parliament have been washed out on the back of the Opposition not stepping back from price rise attack on the Narendra Modi government.
The Congress in particular appears far more aggressive in the ongoing session, while the Parliament bears the brunt of the total breakdown of communication between the government and the Opposition.
The customary pre-session all-party meetings were yawning affairs, and the Opposition showed lack of interest even while the government representatives sought to be all ears for the concerns of the political parties outside the NDA.
The Congress has been on an offensive of late. The appointment of the former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, who has tasted blood after forcing the BJP-sympathizer Zee News to apologise for a doctored video, has seemingly infused new life in the main Opposition party, which otherwise is hurtling to irrelevance in the Indian politics with successive electoral losses.
The Opposition has seized the opportunity in the GST Council meeting in Chandigarh making a mockery of the taxation by throwing its net far into the sea in its desperation to mop up additional revenue as the five years compensation for the losses of the states’ revenue is expiring, leaving all but five states staring at the prospects of dip in their revenue collections.
Both the Houses of Parliament witnessed Opposition MPs trooping into their wells with ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ placards.
The middle class, seen as a compulsive BJP-voter class in the country for lack of an alternative, is seething with anger, as price rise and inflation eat away their savings, while the Modi government fills the state exchequer with excessive taxation, including on the fuel products, to finance its welfare schemes with aims to full-proof the electoral prospects of the saffron outfit as India remains busy throughout the year in elections.
The Monsoon session of Parliament began with the 99 percent turnout of the lawmakers in the President’s election.
But the business of the Parliament has taken a huge hit.
The legislative business, the principal mandate of the Parliament, is on the backburner, as the pandemonium pushes the two Houses in ruckus.
The quality of the legislative business in the recent years has also taken a hit as the government has been rushing back to the Parliament with amendment bills to legislations already enacted.
But there’s a deeper crisis for the Indian Parliament, as the complete breakdown of communication between the treasury and the Opposition benches has become a tale of yesterday.
Additionally, there’s no Pranab Mukherjee in the Rashtrapati Bhavan who can chide both the sides and ask them to focus on their principal business.
The Chief Justice of India NV Ramanna has lamented the squeeze in the space for debate and dialogue in the Parliament. But his is a case of sipping coffee too late in the evening, for the political space in India is less of democratic dialogue, but a battleground where the foe has to be humbled and humiliated.
That makes the task of retrieving the Monsoon session of Parliament for the larger good of the people daunting. However, the MPs can take part in Zero Hour, and indeed read out one-minute statement to satisfy their roles as the lawmakers of the country.
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