Opposition alert, democracy fit!

The job offers in both public and private sectors for the Agniveers who retire after four years appear to be nothing short of kite flying. The private sector desists any reservations while the public sector recruitment has been at a standstill. There is not even a whisper, leave alone any discussion, on the 30-lakh public sector and government job vacancies which Rahul Gandhi had promised to fill if the INDIA bloc is elected

When Abhishek Banerjee, All India Trinamool Congress MP from Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas - West Bengal, mentioned the demonetisation as one of the major failures of the Modi government, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla interjected saying that’s an old issue. After 2016, we had 2019, Birla said to indicate that the Modi government had won the election despite the demonetisation issue. Bannerjee had the presence of mind to quickly point out that Speaker allows the BJP members to raise issues about 50-year-old Emergency and much older Nehru regime. The Speaker does not say a word to the BJP and this partiality is not good, Banerjee said. Birla just smiled, half-heartedly at that.

Let me point out here that it was none other than Birla himself who in his address after his re-election read out a ‘resolution’ from the House criticising the Emergency. The Congress politely wrote to him saying such political references could have been avoided. For record, Birla did pull up the BJP members for creating noise when the opposition leaders spoke. He even asked a member not to put his hand in his pocket while walking into the House!

Even in the Rajya Sabha, it is often observed that the presiding officer admonishes the opposition and shows a soft corner for the ruling party which the INDIA bloc resists.

In these columns, we have always been vocal about a strong and alert opposition which is a must for maintaining a fine balance in democracy, in the interest of the people. No statement from the government should go uncontested and vice-versa. One way traffic of communication is not good for democracy.

Rahul Gandhi mentioned about the injustice being meted out to Agniveer soldiers and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh merely said Agniveer martyrs get a compensation of Rs one crore. But according to Rahul Gandhi, the amount is the insurance money and not any compensation from the government.

Two former Indian Navy chiefs said Agniveer soldiers, are “detrimental to the combat effectiveness” of the military and are fit for only “sentry duties” as they are barely trained, said a Deccan Herald report.

Former Army chief General MM Naravane has already said the scheme came as a surprise for the Army and the government approval for publishing his book has been pending for long.

It was, only after repeated wangling by Rahul Gandhi that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was forced to agree to make a statement in the House on Agniveer scheme whenever the Speaker permits.

The Prime Minister, instead of responding in Parliament, chooses an Army audience to discuss the issue.

Referring to the long pending concern for the average age of the Indian focus being above the global average, the Prime Minister said that in the past there was no willpower to deal with this critical concern which is being addressed now through the Agnipath Scheme. The Purpose of Agnipath is to keep forces young and continuously battle-ready, the Prime Minister asserts, lamenting the ‘blatant politicization’ of this sensitive subject. He raises the concerns about keeping the army young and agile and says how the Agniveers will help it maintain the average age at 30. Modi obviously forgets the fact that the Indian Army has always been fit and agile and ever battle ready. It has given the befitting reply to the enemy in all the wars, except the Chinese aggression in which the red country cheated us.

He criticizes the past scams and past unwillingness for the modernization of the Air Force Fleet.

Not the right way to do, Mr Prime Minister. Political issues could have been avoided in the kind of event that you addressed – the Kargil Victory Day. You have enough platforms to discuss politics.

The job offers in both public and private sectors for the Agniveers who retire after four years appear to be nothing short of kite flying. The private sector desists any reservations while the public sector recruitment has been at a standstill. There is not even a whisper, leave alone any discussion, on the 30-lakh public sector and government job vacancies which Rahul Gandhi had promised to fill if the INDIA bloc is elected.

In Rajya Sabha (RS), too, the Chairman and opposition members do not exactly enjoy a cordial relationship. While the suspension of 46 RS members is still fresh in the minds of the MPs, Chaiman Jagdish Dhankhar has firmly stated that no topic is off limits for discussion in parliament provided proper procedure is followed. Any topic, any person, any individual including the conduct of the chair can be discussed if proper procedure as laid down in rules of procedure of the house is followed, he stated during an orientation event for the members.

Both the Houses have been witnessing personal attacks which may be a bit lesser now as compared to December when we witnessed unprecedented and direct abuses being hurled freely by ruling party members and the presiding officers remaining mum. Now, Dhankar says he is upset over what he called the growing tendency among members to make personal attacks instead of engaging on issues and practice of shouting and sloganeering just to please some individuals. “There can be no greater divisive activity than this”, he said.

This column has been consistently highlighting the need for the members from both sides for focusing on issues that concern their electorate and not get bogged down with tu-tu-main-main and what aboutery.

Forget the bitterness of the past says the PM but neither nor his BJP members do not walk the talk. For instance, the 50-year-old Emergency continues to haunt the BJP and starting from President Droupadi Murmu to Lok Sabha Birla and of late Dhankar keep talking about the emergency as the darkest chapter in Indian democracy. We have discussed this at length in our last column.

In this backdrop, isn’t it nice to see the INDIA bloc MPS grabbing some eyeballs by raising issues such as unemployment, caste census, the budget burden on the common man and the negative points about Agniveer. The unemployment crisis can be gauged from the recent stampede-like situation at Ankleshwar in Gujarat where 1,800 youngsters vied with each other to apply for 10 jobs. Over 25,000 boys turned up in Mumbai to collect forms for over 2,000 vacancies of airport loaders.

In a masterstroke, Rahul Gandhi used the metaphor of Padma Vyuh of Mahabharat and compared it with lotus, the BJP symbol, and narrated the way in which the ruling party traps the hapless people. In an earlier speech, Gandhi invoked Lord Shiva to put forth the message of peace and non-violence.

I am not particularly a proponent of taking shelter under religion but at the same time, I find it interesting to see the opposition members paying back the BJP in religion coin. This is also making the ruling benches to read and refer to the Parliament Rule Book to silence the opposition guns. For the first time in a decade, we get to feel the presence of a strong opposition which vows to break the Mahabharat-type Chakra Vhyuh and go hammer and tongs to force discussion on the burning issues. That’s the beauty of democracy.

(The columnist is a Mumbai-based author and independent media veteran, running websites and a Youtube channel, known for his thought-provoking messaging)