Thursday, February 13th, 2025

Will the parliament move forward with infighting?


Author: Raj Kumar Singh

In the discussion on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, it is clear from the speech of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the reply of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that even after a month of elections, both the parties have not been able to overcome the election mentality. Other speakers also did not seem free from this thinking. In the last two Lok Sabhas, the ruling party had a huge majority. In 2014, in the 16th Lok Sabha, BJP surprised everyone by winning the majority on its own after a gap of three decades. Whereas, in the 17th Lok Sabha, its seats increased to 303. Still, it showed foresight by forming the NDA government. But, the sourness in the relations between the ruling party and the opposition can be gauged from the absence of the Leader of Opposition in both the Lok Sabhas.

Dispute over deputy speaker

For a long time, there has been a tradition of giving the post of Deputy Speaker to the opposition in the Lok Sabha. In the 16th Lok Sabha, BJP gave this post to its ally AIADMK, while in the 17th Lok Sabha this constitutional post remained vacant. This time BJP has chosen to make Om Birla the speaker. There is still silence on the post of Deputy Speaker. The opposition has clearly said that if it does not get the post of Deputy Speaker as per tradition, then it will make Awadhesh Prasad, who won from Ayodhya, the candidate.

Election Preparation

Even after the election results have decided the victory and defeat, the ruling party and the opposition do not seem to miss any opportunity to test their strength. The first session of the new Lok Sabha was proof of this. First, there was an uproar in the Lok Sabha over the discussion on the alleged scam in NEET. Later, when the discussion on the motion of thanks on the President’s address began, instead of serious discussion on the burning issues of the country and society, political attacks were made on each other. It seemed that both the parties have not been able to come out of the election campaign mentality or have started preparing for the Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections to be held in October this year and Delhi and Bihar assembly elections to be held in February next year.

Violation of mandate

The nearly 18-hour discussion on the motion of thanks in the Lok Sabha was focused on the political implications of both sides, rather than on the concerns of the country and society, which is not good for parliamentary democracy. The Lok Sabha election results that came on June 4 were not in line with the expectations of any party. Most political observers believed that the public has given a mandate to run the Parliament and the government in mutual coordination, while bringing the ruling party under control and giving strength to the opposition. But, the conduct in the Parliament does not seem to indicate that either of the two parties is in the mood to do so.

Discussion of issues

In the very first session of the new Lok Sabha, the ruling party and the opposition have shown neglectful and disrespectful behavior towards each other. This has given rise to apprehensions that will the Parliament remain hostage to the bitterness and political ambitions of parties and leaders for another five years? The President’s address is prepared by the Central Government. Naturally, it praises the achievements of the government and its future plans, but it can be expected from the parties and their MPs that while discussing it, they should not shy away from the burning issues facing the country and society.

why harsh language

After two Lok Sabhas, this time the House got the Leader of Opposition in the form of Rahul Gandhi. There is a lot of discussion about his/her speech of more than one and a half hours on the motion of thanks on July 1. There is an improvement in Rahul’s political understanding, speech style and confidence. he/she also raised many issues of public interest, including Manipur, which has been burning in the fire of communal violence for more than a year, and NEET related to the future of 24 lakh students. But, was it necessary to attack PM Modi and BJP in harsh language and election campaign style for that? Parliament is not for distributing certificates of being a Hindu or not.

why the sarcasm

The way PM Modi and his/her five ministers interrupted Rahul’s speech was also undesirable. Every question could have been answered in detail when the turn came. As the leader of the House, PM Modi gave a nearly two and a half hour long reply to the discussion on July 2. But, instead of answering the questions, his/her agenda was to take a dig at the Leader of the Opposition without naming him/her, through stories related to ‘childish intelligence’.

No concern for dignity

Of course, the continuous sloganeering by the opposition during the Prime Minister’s speech is against parliamentary decorum, but who seemed to care about decorum and dignity in the first session of the new Lok Sabha? During his/her speech, the Prime Minister himself gave the House the sad news of the death of many people in the stampede in Hathras, but instead of expressing condolences on it, the Lok Sabha considered it more important to pass a resolution condemning the behavior of the opposition. The first session of the Lok Sabha, which lasted for seven days, is a worrying sign for parliamentary democracy.

(The author is a senior journalist)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own



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