Editorial. Govt, Opposition should forge consensus in Parliament

In the first address of his third term as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi talked about consensus and the Opposition pressed on about Constitutional values. But within the first week of the opening of the newly-elected Lok Sabha, it appears that neither side seems to have actually meant what they said. It is doubtful whether the government’s stance will be more conciliatory in its new avatar.

It has carried on as if it still commands a brute majority in the House as was reflected by the election of the pro-tem Speaker and the Speaker. The government overlooked the senior most MP, eight-term Member K Suresh, for appointment as pro-tem Speaker and appointed BJP MP from Cuttack, Bhartuhari Mahtab. It was clear that hostilities of the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections were being carried into the House. Then came the election of the Speaker. Indeed, of the last 17 Lok Sabhas, the post of the Speaker has been decided by election only three times. For the rest, the tradition has been to appoint a presiding officer based on consensus. But both the government and the Opposition forced an election by voice vote and that signals the end of mutual respect and understanding that the Prime Minister had so eloquently talked about. Apparently, there were efforts from the government side led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to avoid an election. According to the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the Opposition was amenable to the idea of having the Speaker elected unopposed provided the government let it choose the Deputy Speaker. But the government, he claimed, remained non-committal on the issue. The Opposition put up its own candidate and it led to a voice vote election of the Speaker.

It remains to be seen what the government intends to do about the appointment of the Deputy Speaker, a post that has traditionally gone to a member of the Opposition. This tradition continued till the 16th Lok Sabha when an MP of the AIADMK was Deputy Speaker. However, in the 17th Lok Sabha, the post remained empty for an unprecedented entire term. It remains to be seen how the government responds to the Opposition’s demand for appointing the Deputy Speaker from among their ranks although the indication is that the NDA is likely to keep this post too within its fold.

The government needs to be mindful of the reality that the Opposition now has the numbers to stall crucial legislation and disrupt proceedings. Cooperation and consensus have to be found for day-to-day running of the new government. For its part, the Opposition needs to understand that the mandate is for ensuring proper scrutiny of legislative business and not constant disruption, as was the case in the past. The greater strength that it now has in the Lower House should be used to enforce accountability and pin the government down to meaningful debates.