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Consensual Politics:A NEW BEGINNING FOR PARLIAMENT?, by Poonam I Kaushish, 28 August, 2010 Print E-mail

Political Diary

New Delhi, 28 August 2010


Consensual Politics

A NEW BEGINNING FOR PARLIAMENT?

By Poonam I Kaushish

 

All’s well that ends well! Who would have thought that the Monsoon session of Parliament which began on a bitter note last month would end today (31 August) in new-found syrupy hum-saath-saath-hain between the Congress and the Opposition. Raising a moot point: Are happy Parliamentary days back after years of acrimony? Is the new camaraderie a forerunner to the maturing of our jan sevaks and Parliament turning a new leaf? Is the polity taking baby steps to being perceived as a more responsive leadership? Will the new bond sustain? Or is the solidarity a charade to feather their nests? All this and more.

 

Importantly, this session underscored the best and the crassest worst of our MPs. Frankly even before it begun many had written of the session as bad news. For starters, in an unprecedented move the BJP boycotted the Prime Minister’s pre-session lunch for Opposition leaders on the facetious plea that the Government had “misused” the CBI and arrested Gujarat’s Home Minister Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. Asserted Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj: “How can we break bread with a Government which is conducting a witch-hunt against our Ministers in the State.”

 

However, by Thursday last Parliament metamorphosed into a Government-Opposition engagement rarely seen in recent times. After years of innumerable ugly and acrimonious skirmishes we saw an “arrogant” Government bend over backwards to accommodate the viewpoint of arch rivals BJP and Left on the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill. With speakers across the political divide acknowledging the others contribution to ensure safe passage of the Bill. A grateful Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went a step further and called up Sushma Swaraj to personally thank her for her cooperation.

 

In fact, this is not the lone example of the new bhaichara. Many senior Ministers are now regularly in touch with key Opposition leaders to accommodate their viewpoint on crucial legislations. GST Bill, Education Bill etc. Leading to rubbing of eyes in wonderment. What brought about the change? New thinking? Innovative strategy? Petty politricking to serve self-interest?

 

True, the cynics undoubtedly see a game plan. Most perceive the Government’s new wooing-cooing of the Opposition as hardcore strategy to get crucial legislations passed, specially in the Rajya Sabha where it lacks the critical numbers. Working on the premise that all is fair in love and war. After all, politics is the art of making possible the impossible.

 

Not a few snigger that the Congress-BJP had struck a quid-pro-quo deal. We pass the Bill and you keep Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi out of the investigations into the Sohrabuddin case. Akin to a similar deal the Government cut with the SP and BSP supremos Mulayam and Mayawati last month over a united Opposition-sponsored onslaught of cut-motions on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha. Facing defeat with a bare three-MP majority the Government hurriedly got the CBI to agree to “reconsider” the DA case pending against both Mayawati and Mulayam.

 

The optimists differ. Many put the ice-breaker as a result of a generational change in the leadership of the parties. All working on the premise that the time has come to let bygones be bygones, turn a new leaf and look at the future. Undoubtedly, there is a visible shift in thinking, strategy and negotiating skills of the jan sevaks who realize that if India has to join the super-power league they have to work in tandem.

 

This new thinking is perceptible in the way the Congress’s Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Jairam Ramesh, BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI Gurudas Dasgupta and D Raja, NCP’s Praful Patel, DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran et al conduct themselves, interact and are at ease with each other. Asserted a MP: “The world-over leadership has shifted to the 40’s-50’s generation, US President Obama is 47, British Premier David Cameron 43, Congo President Joseph Kabila 38, Germany’s Green Party Chief Cem Ozdemir,  Ukraine’s Yulia Tymoshenko et al are all in their fifties.”

 

This refreshing new give-and-take was visible when all collectively put their heads together to break the week-long impasse over the Opposition-sponsored adjournment motion which entailed voting on the price rise issue which would have embarrassed the Treasury Benches.

 

True, the Government would not have fallen if the vote went against it, but it would have exposed the fissures within the UPA. Already demanding allies like the Trinamool, DMK and NCP viewed this as an opportunity to extract their pound of flesh. Ditto with “outside” supporters RJD, SP and BSP. Finally, after much haggling the ‘young’ brigade amicably settled for the Speaker’s resolution on the issue.

 

But even as this new generational change in our polity is welcome, India’s Parliament tragically continues to be in the moribund grip of a miniscule 4% mohalla mentality leaders, who continue to besmirch and tarnish Parliament. Most shocking was when senior regional leaders led by Lalu and Mulayam held a “mock” Lok Sabha last week.

 

Call it shades of black humour or what you may, the unprecedented happening exposed the worst of Parliamentary etiquette since India’s independence. Never had one witnessed that an ordinary MP would don the sacrosanct Speaker’s chair. Given that after elections a new Speaker is escorted to his chair by the PM and the Leader of the Opposition. Tragically, our legislators suffered no sense of guilt or qualms of conscience.

 

Equally scandalous was their “fake” concerns over issues that affect the aam aadmi.  Take the debate on price rise. Most scandalously, when the Leader of Opposition initiated discussions in the Lok Sabha, the PM, Leader of House (Finance Minister), Petroleum and even the Agriculture Ministers were all absent. Adding insult to injury, less than 50-odd MPs were present. Repeated ringing of the quorum bell failed to get our jan sevaks give up their gupshup in the Central Hall.

 

Earlier too, during a discussion on the same issue in the last winter session only 26 of the 545 MPs were present in the Lok Sabha. By the time Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar finished replying five more Members had left. The house thus conducted an important debate without even the mandatory quorum --- at least 10% of its total strength. Let “mehangai daayan khaye jaat hai” the common man. Who cares!

 

And on the day when the farmers gheroed Delhi demanding a rethink on the Land Acquisition Act and a day after the Congress icon Rahul Gandhi talked of being the soldier of Asli Bharat read tribals, trust our Right Honourables to hike their salary and perks by over 300%! The debate on the CWG uncovered the ugly truth that today corruption has become a low risk, high-profit area. All interested in feathering their own nests. 

 

Another example. Take the Question Hour, which is the hyphen between the legislature and Government. Sixty decisive minutes whereby a MP can ask a Minister for information and hold him accountable. An analysis of the winter session of Parliament showed that out of 440 starred questions in the Lok Sabha, only 131 were called. For 44 called questions, the respective MPs were not present, leading to the collapse of Question Hour. In the Rajya Sabha, of a total of 460 questions admitted only 18% could be orally answered. Notwithstanding, the cost of running Parliament totals Rs 7.65 crore per day.

 

It now remains to be seen whether the ‘new beginning’ by the ‘youthful’ leadership will usher in bi-partisanship on issues of national interest. Of out-of-the box thinking. We are happy for their new-found comfort level and politics of consensus. But are they concerned about us or is it their politics as usual? Fingers are crossed. ----- INFA

 

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

 

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