Neeta Lal :
THE right-wing Bhartiya Janata Partys (BJP) thundering success in the recent Maharashtra and Haryana elections despite failing to prop up a single, strong candidate to be chief minister underscores that the Modi juggernaut is continuing to roll even six months after general elections, trampling and crushing Opposition like a Leviathan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis popularity looks as strong as ever and crucially, his growing political clout currently means no opposition to his administrative policies from recalcitrant allies.
This is helping the BJP expand its pan-India footprint, and its mounting political capital suggests that within a few years, the BJP could become the single largest party in the upper house of Parliament, significant for passing legislation, and will likely decide who becomes the next president in 2017.
By contrast, the opposition parties are in a shambles. The Aam Aadmi Party which had burst upon the Indian political landscape like a shining beacon not long ago failed to contest a single seat in Maharashtra or Haryana.
Congress, with Rahul Gandhi as a lacklustre helmsman, and a sister (Priyanka Gandhi) who is burdened by her marriage to a dubious businessman, Robert Vadra, augurs ill for the countrys foremost political formation. What is even more significant is that there is no real opposition worth the name.
The Congress, with its paltry 44 MPs, is the largest among the others, with the Trinamool Congress and the AIADMK bringing up the rear. The Parliament also has no Leader of the Opposition, since that post goes to a party that has won at least 10 per cent of the total seats.
This bodes ill for India, not just for the Congress Party. The role of the Opposition can hardly be overstated in India.
It plays an important function in critiquing the ruling dispensation. It is also consulted when important appointments are made.
Therefore, it is paramount for the opposition to have a leader who can represent the interests of the smaller parties in these roles. The absence of an opposition leader will weaken India as the opposition will not be able to stand up to the ruling party. The oppositions role extends to acting as the `watch dog of the system.
It holds the administration up to scrutiny and keeps it on its toes. In such countries where there is a two-party system in vogue, the Opposition party forms a shadow cabinet to exercise vigil over the performance of the government.
The presence of a strong and robust opposition doesnt let the ruling party get away with policies that are not in the wider interests of society and the country, and one which ensures that the government lives up to its commitments.
Additionally, in the present Indian political system, the government has to consult the opposition in the selection of a slew of crucial posts, such as the chief vigilance commissioner and the chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The Opposition parties are representatives of the people who have sent them to the House to safeguard their interests.
They criticise the government in case the latter ignores them, or conceals facts for vested interests. They also keep the people sensitized about specific issues of national importance and raise levels of political consciousness among them.
Dissent and debate are vital for mature democracies to work efficiently. A government that doesnt have Opposition parties asking uncomfortable questions is likely to get complacent, even dangerously arrogant. The worlds largest democracy cant afford such hubris.
(Neeta Lal is a New Delhi-based writer)
