The good news is that both Houses of Parliament got on to their normal functioning on Tuesday after the ruling front and the Opposition agreed to a ceasefire; their recalcitrance had forced a wash-out of the first week. The mediations with a view to finding some common points have borne fruit and Parliament will now discuss the 75 years of the Constitution, the violence in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh and the developments in Bangladesh. The ruling NDA is still steadfast in refusing to deliberate on the US department of justice’s indictment of senior officials of the Adani Group, including its chairman Gautam Adani. The Congress which had been seeking the discussion, however, stopped agitating after it realised that a single-point agenda could fracture the fragile Opposition unity, and eased its stance.
The agreement between the two sides can be welcomed only with caution as it is an uneasy calm that is visiting Parliament now. The BJP-led NDA was in no mood to accommodate Opposition protests in the last Lok Sabha and it had led to unprecedented events which included suspension of almost the entire Opposition from both the Houses. The Lok Sabha election results altered dynamics within the Houses as the BJP now commands no majority in the Lower House on its own and the Opposition received a substantial mandate from the people to hold the government accountable for its sins of omission and commission. The popular verdict, which offered a rare third term to a government in power and an increased strength for the Opposition with a duly recognised leader, should have forced both sides to be more respectful and accommodative of each other but unfortunately there are no such signs of it as yet.
The Opposition may still feel stripped of an opportunity to use the parliamentary platform to beat the ruling party, and especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, using the businessman’s proximity to the powers that be. However, it can still turn the tables on the NDA, questioning the motive of the government’s refusal to take up the topic when it is willing to accede to the Opposition demand for a parliamentary discussion on any other. The Opposition can still go to the people exposing the government’s caginess when it comes to its perceived links with industrial groups facing allegations of corruption. It can still demand a proper investigation into the allegedly shady dealings which, if true, have put an additional cost on the people of this country. But in the meantime, it makes sense for it to use Parliament to sensitise the nation on another insidious ongoing — a start-up enterprise called masjid surveys that has the potential to substantially undermine peace in the country not to mention erase its rich history and heritage.
A country of 143 crore people with the largest possible diversity would not expect their representatives to speak in a single voice on all subjects. However, its citizens would want them to find common causes that would help them progress. It must be the joint endeavour of both the ruling front and the Opposition to do minimal justice to those expectations.
