E-Paper
UPA govt finds itself cornered after defeats in assembly polls
At the end of the tunnel, there is no light but yet another tunnel for the UPA government it would seem. A non-functioning Parliament amounts to a self-defeating exercise for the political class.
At the end of the tunnel, there is no light but yet another tunnel for the UPA government it would seem. Reeling from the defeats in the assembly polls, it now finds itself cornered and paralysed in Parliament.
As expected a triumphant BJP is giving the government a hard time on the JPC report among other things. But, in what is a double whammy for the UPA, some of its own MPs and those of the Telugu Desam are bringing a no-confidence motion against it on the contentious Telangana issue. The BSP is up in arms over the deaths in Muzaffarnagar and the DMK is fulminating over India not taking over Kachchateevu island from Sri Lanka for the protection of Indian fishermen. It would take not just a political manager but a magician to manage all this in the winter session of Parliament which is due to end by December 20.
The fact that Parliament has had to be adjourned repeatedly is a self-defeating exercise for the political class. One reason for the disillusionment with the current political system and which helped the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party is anger that taxpayers’ money is being wasted on unproductive sessions of Parliament. This singular message that people will not be taken for granted anymore does not seem to have gone home if Parliament’s functioning is anything to go by.
There is very little time before the general elections and many crucial Bills, several of which are economic in nature, are pending before Parliament. The RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has fought a magnificent holding action in keeping economic spirits up and he needs political support to execute his job. The communal violence Bill is hanging fire as is that hoary old chestnut, the women’s reservation Bill. These are but a few of the pending bills which ought to have been dealt with earlier but then Parliament was caught in numerous gridlocks.
All the parties which are going to contest the general elections have a short window of opportunity to show that they are serious about the jobs they were elected for. At least in enlightened self-interest, they should get down to business. The light at the end of the tunnel is certainly what the voter is keeping her eyes peeled for.