To state that Parliament is in a state of paralysis is to state the obvious, though a one-sided show will continue for the remainder of this Winter Session. Almost the entire opposition has been charged out, and most of them — 141 MPs in all — have been suspended. The suspensions came following their protests inside both the Houses since last week seeking an explanation from the government over the serious breach of security reflected in the canister attack inside Parliament by a set of youths on Wednesday last.
A proper explanation from the government would have sufficed to end this protest at the very start itself. The Opposition was well within its limits to seek a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on how the security breach occurred. It has a right to seek this explanation. The Modi-led government remained adamant and Speaker Om Birla took the stand that the Lok Sabha Secretariat is tasked with all the security matters relating to Parliament and not the government. Legislature, an arm of democracy, cannot be dictated to or controlled by the Executive, meaning the government. This is technically correct, but the issue of a security breach in Parliament goes beyond technicalities. This incident has stirred the national conscience and become a matter of grave concern to the informed sections of the populace. The issue cannot be confined within the walls of politics either. As of now, the Opposition is weak, and the principal opposition, the Congress Party, itself is having no more than 52 members in a house of 543. This does not mean that the Opposition can be taken for granted. The BJP-led government seems to be doing precisely that. In effecting the suspensions, speaker Om Birla has argued that the Opposition members violated rules like carrying placards within the august house, though an all-party meeting had agreed recently that this would not be done in the new Parliament. Yet, these do not in any way warrant a wholesome suspension for the entire session.
Effectively, the Parliament would function with skeletal representation on the Opposition benches, where the members of some neutral parties that are neither with the NDA nor the UPA would be sitting. This would mean bills, even “draconian” bills, of the government would be passed without any hassle. Chances are also that the government precisely wanted this to happen. Even otherwise, in the normal course too, there are hardly any serious discussions before bills are passed. Fewer members take interest in legislation, per se, other than doing their main job of voting for or against. A bill. Such is the progressively worsening scenario. This will not bode well for democracy, which is whittling away with every passing day.