The Congress-initiated, INDI-Alliance-supported motion to express lack of confidence in the Speaker of the Lok Sabha was destined to be defeated. Going by the speeches of the opposition leaders, it was clear that there was little substance to the motion. On the other hand, going by the frontal attack by speakers from the treasury benches, it proved to be yet another self-goal for the opposition in general and the Congress in particular.
The onus of this flop show lies undoubtedly with the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi. The 2024 verdict, in which India’s Grand Old Party won almost 100 seats, created a fertile ground for Rahul to prove his political acumen, understand parliamentary practices, hone oratorical skills and, above all, display his leadership talent. But alas, over the last two years, Rahul has failed to establish much worth noting on these fronts. On the contrary, factors like a seeming lack of application, inconsistent participation in the Lok Sabha, unserious demeanour including making serious allegations without providing concrete evidence have done serious damage to the institution of LoP.
From A K Gopalan to Sushma Swaraj, there were many LoPs who hugely contributed to the prestige and decorum of the office. In the first Lok Sabha, Comrade Gopalan could not be officially appointed LoP as the formal role had not been established yet. Nonetheless, his scholarship, activism and oratorical skills made him the de facto LoP. As a parliamentarian, AKG was known for his commitment to the rights of the working classes.
From the BJP, leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Swaraj and Arun Jaitley enhanced the prestige of the LoP’s office through their conduct in the House as also their intellectual contribution during deliberations.
Remarkably, in 1994, Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao asked Vajpayee, then the LoP, to lead the Indian delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva to defend India’s position on Kashmir, a move that spoke volumes about the healthy mutuality between the PM and the LoP. Advani, too, made a significant mark as the LoP and vacated the position in 2009 in favour of his younger party colleague Swaraj.
Known for her powerful oratory, Swaraj demanded accountability of the government. She was known for her content-rich speeches and flawless argument on economic policies, corruption, price rise and security issues. On certain occasions, she almost forced the government to retreat on contentious legislative issues.
Rahul Gandhi had such an inspiring legacy of always-watchful LoPs to further build upon. But sadly, at least till today, he has not quite risen to the opportunity. Not just non-Congress LoPs, Rahul could have learnt from his parents and his granny, too. Indira Gandhi, who briefly played the LoP’s role, realised the importance of activism beyond the Lok Sabha. Many journalists in those days wrote at length about her tireless travels across the country. Apart from her legendary elephant ride to Belchhi in Bihar, she would often spend 10-12 hours a day on the road.
With this in the backdrop, there are at least three things that Rahul must improve upon if he wants to be taken seriously as the LoP, the extremely important constitutional position he occupies.
First, he must provide some evidence of his alternative vision. He vehemently criticised the farm laws, assailed the government on its handling of diplomatic relations with neighbouring countries, and attacked the Centre’s approach to the unrest in Manipur. But merely attacking the government is not enough. He could have provided alternative visions on these issues and told countrymen as to how he would have dealt with them in a qualitatively better fashion. For example, he keeps on harping about inadequate representation of marginalised communities in government, judiciary and even in academia. But then, there is no substantive evidence to suggest that his party’s governments in Karnataka, Telangana or Himachal Pradesh have gone the extra mile to ensure adequate representation to the marginalised.
American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Looks like Rahul has taken this a tad too seriously. Post his Bharat Jodo yatra, it was expected that he would take up certain key issues and follow up on them consistently. For him, it was easy to criticise the GST by calling it the “Gabbar Singh Tax”. However, neither he as the LoP nor the states ruled by the Congress have followed up on whatever substantive GST reforms they deem fit.
That takes up to the third important factor, which is re-building the Congress party organisation. Structured efforts to re-invigorate India’s GOP are not apparent today. Had Rahul used all the days he spent abroad on such an effort, his party cadres would have felt more enthused. How can a non-resident LoP enthuse—forget cadres—even his own party’s members of Parliament? Remember how some Congress MPs were chuckling cheekily when Home Minister Amit Shah was attacking him on the point of his repeated foreign visits?
The LoP cannot just take things for granted. If he believes that there are issues about which the people of the country are agitated, he has to establish it in multiple ways, at multiple forums and on multiple occasions. Winning brownie points, playing the victimhood card, ridiculing the Prime Minister and other senior BJP leaders certainly would not cut any ice. It is easy and alluring to be a ‘Leader of Supposition’. But to be an effective Leader of Opposition, one needs many things like engaging with opinion-makers, taking the pains of meeting industry leaders, undertaking extensive travel within the country, making studied arguments and, thereby, creating a definitive mark.
Rahul Gandhi would do well to note that on several occasions Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised the importance of a strong opposition and regretted the fact that the Congress and other opposition parties have failed in their job. Instead of indulging in theatrics like going up to the PM’s seat and hugging him, Rahul can move on to meeting the expectations of his office—from the PM as well as the people.
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe | Senior BJP leader
(Views are personal)
(vinays57@gmail.com)