Bureau Opinion, Bhubaneswar, 3rd July 2024
During the ongoing special session of Parliament, pursuant to the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha, (the Lok Sabha has been adjourned sine die since last evening) the importance and relevance of the position of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha is very discernible. Rahul Gandhi was recently chosen as LoP by the opposition INDI alliance and his maiden speech during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address has galvanised not only the entire INDI alliance, but also the Congress cadres across the country. The way he put the NDA government, especially PM Modi, on the mat on various important issues augurs well for the Indian democracy.
In the last 10 years, under a BJP majority government, Indian democracy moved several steps backwards and resembled an autocratic dispensation under an authoritarian PM. The poor electoral performance by the Congress and other opposition parties in 2014 and 2019 ensured that the position of LoP remained vacant for these 10 years. In a spirited fight in 2024, the united opposition led by the Congress has secured more than 230 seats and is determined to take the battle right into the middle of the treasury benches. Rahul Gandhi has seamlessly moved into his new role of LoP and has made a huge impact across the country in his maiden speech as LoP. Not only he but other senior leaders, like Akhilesh Yadav of SP and Mahua Moitra of AITMC, have also put the government on notice that any attempt to bulldoze the opposition would be met by equal, perhaps more, ferocity. The opposition is not going to yield an inch and the LoP has given that confidence through his pointed attacks on the government’s failures in the last 10 years.
It is so apparent that for a healthy democracy, a strong opposition is a sine qua non. Without a strong opposition and without an LoP in the last 10 years, the BJP government got emboldened to get Bills passed without any discussion, to suspend opposition members through the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman, to muffle the voice of opposition members (even literally, by muting mikes!), etc. This is definitely going to reduce now with a strong, aggressive, and united opposition ready to take such undemocratic moves head on.
The LoP is an important and responsible institution of a Parliamentary democracy. Just as morning shows the day, Rahul Gandhi’s maiden intervention in the Lok Sabha promises a lot. He needs to maintain his composure and continue to raise important matters of national importance in the forthcoming sessions of the Lok Sabha. That would be a great service to our great democracy.
