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.
I agree to the fullest.
"It is impossible to work in this sort of environment." - Mr. Hamid Ansari.
Reflects a lot on the state of affairs in the parliament, doesn't it?
I wonder if youth can start to work at the grass-root level, without getting into blame games, can provide a strong alternative in the future. Worth a thought.
I think the onus has always been on the govt side to make sure the parliament runs smoothly. But this govt has not done its duty in that regard. I will give you few instances.
1. FDI debate :
Opposition was asking for a debate under rule 184 in loksabha and under a similar rule in RS. Because just a debate (without voting)would have certainly reflected the sense of the house against the FDI but eventually UPA would have gone ahead with as it is the executive policy and does not necessarily require nod of the house. So at least by demanding a voting at the end , opposition wanted to show to the people of this country how double faced these mullayams and mayas are(who will never allow foreign retailers in UP but still voting FOR the policy in the house). Opposition wanted to show how cong is been using CBI to get things done and to keep themselves in power(nuclear deal trust vote). But cong took a week (to strike deals with maya and mulayam and also with their own ally DMK which opposes FDI) and then told to the speaker that they are ready for debate with voting. Do you still blame opposition for that impasse?
2. COAL GATE :
CAG report is out. CBI probe is ON. we were demanding resignation of Manmohan Singh only because CBI probe is on. How can Manmohan Singh remain Prime Minister when CBI is investigating and finding irregularities even in the preliminary probe? Under the same UPA Government, two DMK ministers — Dayanidhi Maran and A. Raja — were forced to resign for their alleged role in the 2G scam, then why the same rule does not apply to the Prime Minister and other ministers on the coal block allocation issue? After all it the coal ministry was with MMS during the alleged irregularities.
And I really do not understand what more can opposition do when investigation is ON. Their demand was fair and logical but govt was simply not interested in any accountability so they were fine with the deadlock.
By the way , I completely disagree with "party going nowhere" remark :) I think it is high time I start writing blogs and clarify BJP's stance in everything it is doing as an opposition. Will pass on some of the press release as well :)
P.S. Just to clear the air , I am a BJP guy since 2004 and a hindu nationalist by heart. You might get confused with the Rohan who was a primary member of MNS during third and final year of engineering. BTW I still endorse legitimate points raised by Raj about UP and bihari influx :)
@Rohan: Just my thoughts on how Indian politics is functioning rite now. I am not taking sides, just being politically neutral. Nice to read your views about the political scenario in India!
Politically neutral !!!!!!! Aahh I hate this word :( Anyways , it is nice that you are as usual following national politics. GOOD !! I look forward to some more blogs on politics in the upcoming days as the 2014 comes closer and some more views and counter views :)cheers !