With the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on 21 July, a major confrontation is expected to take place between the Treasury and Opposition benches on several issues. These include, of course, those related to the Pahalgam incident and Operation Sindoor that followed. There is also the Special Intensive Review being undertaken by the Election Commission in Bihar which the opposition parties claim is designed to remove their supporters from the voters’ lists. They have also stated their intention to focus on ‘the failure of India’s foreign policy on all fronts, whether in connection with Pakistan, China, or Gaza’. It has also been demanded that Prime Minister Modi be present to answer all these questions. Other matters such as delimitation, ‘atrocities on SCs, STs, women, and minorities’ are intended to be raised.
All these issues are, of course, relevant in the present political context, particularly because of the impact these may have on the coming Bihar assembly elections. However, as has been seen in the past, all the best intentions fail when matters get heated in the respective houses. Repeated walkouts and other disturbances do not allow a proper debate, or the communication of issues to the public. The opposition in particular has behaved like some petulant teenager, blaming everybody else for its failure to make the necessary impact. This is in line with its attitude outside Parliament where election failures are blamed on the Election Commission, the EVMs, the actions of the ED and CBI, the courts, basically the entire ‘Indian state’, as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is wont to declare.
One reason for the contrived commotion in Parliament is the fact that, too often, the different interests of the INDI Alliance parties come to the fore when debates are held properly, as is only natural considering varied regional interests. The cracks within the alliance have been visible for quite some time. There are differences even within the Congress, with the likes of MP Shashi Tharoor putting nation before politics.
If the opposition genuinely wants discussions on Pahalgam and Op Sindoor from the point of view of strengthening India’s position, it would prove extremely fruitful. Unfortunately, it is already clear that the intention is to embarrass Prime Minister Modi by asking why the Pahalgam terrorists have not yet been caught, whether Donald Trump brought about the ceasefire, or the ‘loss of IAF fighter jets’ during the conflict. Such an approach that strengthens Pakistan’s claims cannot be appreciated by the Treasury Benches or the public at large. As such, except more sound than fury in the coming session.
