The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill is due to be discussed in the union cabinet. The ongoing rut of the parliamentary stalemate should ideally come to an end with this bill. But then that is just wishful thinking.

Where is the Indian democracy going? No where really. We take one step ahead with the Lokpal discussions and two steps backwards with the FDI tug-of-war. The parliamentary discussions are stalled and are counter-productive to the growth of the country. The Congress led Government is not to be blamed alone, the opposition led by an ineffective BJP is equally responsible.

In the Coal allocation scandal, BJP could have leveraged the allotments and convinced the country that it is a responsible group that can govern the country better. Instead it chose to paralyse the parliamentary procedures. This is not a one off case, BJP has opposed only because it is the Opposition. This has greatly harmed political debate in the Parliament. The only success story of BJP is the rise and rise of Narendra Modi. He seems to know what he is doing when the party doesn’t really know where it is heading. There is no confidence amongst the top leadership which consists of political veterans. These are minds that have seen Government change like seasons yet lack the ability to give a strong mandate to the party. In a bid to oust the Congress led government, BJP has roped in the Left. It is a wise political move to have them as an ally. But to endorse their views as BJP’s own is taking it too far. When the worry should be about the loss of rational thought, the opposition seems to enjoy suggesting regressive steps for investment in India. Let alone lure foreign investments, we seem to have lost the faith of Indian investors too. Jaitley seems to be in a right frame of mind coming up with valid arguments against FDI in retail but then for some reasons messes up with a lame argument to close the deal. The Congress led Government has done enough goof ups with the Common wealth games, spectrum auctions and Coal scandals. In all these opportunities the opposition has missed to capitalise on, BJP sounds like a spoilt kid throwing tantrums.

All is not lost yet. The BJP can recover with a strong mandate, clear focus and effective management. It needs to work on not just being a good opposition but showing the Indian public that it can be a good leader too. Some major steps need to be taken to reform its image, be more popular amongst the youth and make careful allies. The golden era of BJP during the Vajpayee led coalition seems distant. The confident chant of ‘ Aab ki baari, Atal Bihari’ echoes feebly in the background of the diffident outfit. There is no central authority and a serious lack of a strong mandate for the party. From what seems like a failure of a strong opposition, BJP is now only waiting for the coveted PMO position.

The elevator lifted up in the shaft. The attempt was deliberate and slow. Time was ticking away. Kaajal fussed with the collar of her business suit. She twirled her hair like a nervous woman. Her long fingers were slightly trembling.  It was 1 in the morning. Her only companion was the noisy fan. It gushed in hot air into the elevator. The sweating made her more claustrophobic.

“Kaajal!! Kaajal from section C.”  The announcement got her back to reality. She stood up to acknowledge the achievement. The entire room resonated in applause. The claps were for her so she humbly smiled. In their world she was a survivor, in her dream she was about to die.