It’s over to Speaker for an effective Lok Sabha

The Festival of Democracy 2024 has come to an end. The Modi 3.0 NDA government is in place and it is time now to look towards governance. Soon the centre will have to convene Parliament and present full budget. But now the question is how cooperative and proactive the opposition will be.

The opposition parties which are known as INDIA bloc have increased their overall tally in the Lok Sabha. It is a good sign as there will be a strong opposition. But what is more important than the numbers is how effective they will be in Lok Sabha. If their absence from the swearing in ceremony of Modi and his team and their comments from June 4 when results were announced to date are any indication they do not seem to have reconciled to the fact that though their combined strength has gone up, they are yet to come to terms with the verdict given by the voters.

They are still not able to digest the fact that they could not reach the magic figure and stop the Modi from becoming hat trick PM. Barring the AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, no one else attended the grand gala swearing in ceremony of the NDA government though all opposition party leaders were invited. Kharge too attended more in his capacity as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha not INDIA alliance leader. His remark that he was attending only because he was opposition leader in Rajya Sabha shows that he attended more out of compulsion.

This shows the kind of dislike the opposition wants to exhibit towards Modi.

All this clearly indicates that the frosty relations between the opposition bloc and the NDA will create more of friction on the floor of Lok Sabha. This certainly is not a good sign for democracy. The opposition parties should be magnanimous enough to rise to the occasion, discuss and debate not stall the proceedings of the house and create ruckus. If they think this would rain votes, they are in for disappointment. They cannot take the voters for granted. This time there will not be any honey moon period for the new government and the possibility of executive actions is more. The opposition should understand that all rhetoric should end once the results are out and they should gracefully accept the public verdict and play their role in a constructive manner and prove that they are better than the NDA alliance.

They have been given a very good mandate and opportunity by the people. They should participate in discussions and debates and should desist from stone walling the passage of certain bills or key moves if they feel that they are not in the larger interest of the people. Opposition should understand that they have major role in governance and should not treat government as enemy. All of them are sent to the Lok Sabha to ensure that they work for the welfare of the people not to settle political scores in Parliament.

On the other hand, the NDA says they will not shy away from taking harsh decisions. One thing is clear; the role of Speaker this term is going to be very crucial. It will certainly not be an easy task to ensure that the house runs smoothly.