The BJP wants the Law Minister and the Prime Minister to resign for the government’s attempt to vet the CBI report on Coal Block Allocations. The opposition is forcing repeated adjournments in parliament and obstructing legislative functioning. Successive sessions of parliament have been logjammed in the last three years owing to political wrangling. A number of critical bills are now pending. If parliament is paralyzed again, the country’s economy will suffer. The BJP as a responsible opposition party should realize that accelerating the passage of the bills is more important than its political motivations. It is not unlikely that it will come to power at the Centre in 2014. It should be keen on passing the bills from that point of view. Any other ruling coalition at the Centre will face the same challenge. Most important are the new and improved land acquisition bill and the introduction of the goods and service tax crucial in developing the economy.
The BJP should remember that some of the bills pending in parliament originated when the NDA was in office. The opposition should abandon the idea that its role is to oppose. The price that has to be paid for that is huge. Of course, democracy demands debate and electoral contests. That does not rule out the need for legislative and political cooperation in vital sectors. Passage of some of the bills should be in the BJP’s interest in the long run. The deadlock in parliament is a dangerous precedent. If the Congress finds itself in the opposition benches after the parliamentary elections, it may take the same obstructionist policy as it had done in the past. The BJP may have its grievances and is certainly anxious to be one up on the Congress. But the democratic system should not be undermined in any way.
