Record suspensions poor optics for temple of democracy
The suspension of a record 143 members of parliament who demanded a statement from the home minister on the recent Lok Sabha intrusion indicates a precipitous decline in the country’s parliamentary democracy. Heavens would not have fallen had the government made a statement admitting the seriousness of the breach and that the members ought to wait for the reports of the probe panels set up by Speaker Om Birla and the home ministry. They said as much outside parliament while accusing the opposition of using it to derive political mileage. It shows how competitive our politics has become with the Lok Sabha elections just a few months away.
When the winter session began, proceedings appeared normal for more than a week—except for Mahua Moitra’s expulsion—before the intruders struck. The nation has a right to seek accountability for the security breach, which was what the opposition was articulating. But the way they went about it—entering the well of the House and displaying placards—was against their commitment not to do so in the new parliament building. Both sides could have explored a middle path through communication, but that was not to be. Ironically, the BJP MP who issued passes to the intruders is yet to face public scrutiny. The mass suspensions forced even disciplined opposition members like Shashi Tharoor to enter the well, lest they be seen as colluding with the treasury benches.
After the suspension, it was legislative business as usual in both Houses. Deliberation is the hallmark of parliamentary democracy, yet a few weighty bills such as the Telecom Bill and laws to replace the old criminal codes sailed through without the benefit of a wider spectrum of opposition views. That has been the problem during this government’s tenure, with even the Supreme Court throwing up its hands in exasperation, observing that the legislative intent of bills were not fully clear since they were rammed through without thorough discussions. Overconfidence can be a serious downside of a humongous majority won at the hustings.
The suspensions seemed to have brought closer the INDIA bloc, which was haemorrhaging with Nitish Kumar grumbling, and Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav putting the faces of the Congress leadership, especially the Gandhis, on their dart boards. How well they negotiate seat sharing will determine their ability to give the BJP a real fight.