Has the opposition, particularly the Congress, lost any hope of making it to power? Is this why it is deliberately violating parliamentary norms to express its angst? Has all faith been lost in democratic functioning and is the unleashing of anarchy the planned route to power, as happened in Bangladesh and Nepal? Will the attempt to destroy the credibility of constitutional institutions by disrespecting established norms and procedures earn the support of the people? This behaviour is much like the blame being cast on “India’s hold over the ICC” by the teams in the T20 World Cup for their losses.
Monday witnessed chaos being unleashed in the Lok Sabha by the opposition on the West Asia conflict, disregarding its own motion brought against the Speaker which was slated for discussion. Is parliament to be run on the whims and fancies of certain ‘entitled’ persons? In fact, it has been noted that the Congress leadership has been trying very hard to get the Indian Government to make statements that could disturb the equilibrium that is being maintained with much difficulty in testing times. With war having been unleashed in India’s neighbourhood and the heat already being felt through rise in oil prices and sinking of an Iranian warship, why is the opposition not rallying behind the government to ensure the situation does not deteriorate? Does it not realise that even a small mistake could cause harm to the Indian people?
Similarly, the Congress MLAs created a completely pointless ruckus during the Governor’s address at the start of the Budget Session of the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha in Bhararisain. Such actions are very clearly part of a strategy to show the people that the party is above the very institutions that provide its legislators the space to function in a democratic set-up. And when the people reject such politicians in the polls, it will be claimed that the Election Commission is siding with the ruling party.
Unfortunately, while the high commands of opposition parties order such behaviour, the requirements of individual MLAs and MPs to raise important matters related to their constituencies are being ignored. This lack of functioning will also impact upon the MLAs’ prospects at election time.
Matters have gone so bad that even the nation’s President has been disrespected in West Bengal to satisfy the ego of the incumbent Chief Minister. Have Indians already forgotten the conditions that prevailed before independence to take present day freedoms and rights for granted? If these are not protected and respected, there can only be chaos ahead, and all the progress that has been made will be lost.
