People's confidence : Takeaways from July 20 debate in Parliament
Both the national parties have crippled Andhra, says Jayadev Galla: The saga of Andhra Pradesh during the Modi and Shah regime is a saga of empty promises...
July 23, 2018
People’s confidence
After some aborted attempts, the opposition in Lok Sabha could muster the numbers needed for moving a ‘No Confidence Motion’ which was debated in the Parliament for more than 13 hours on July 20, 2018. TDP joined one of the national parties the party saw as a co-accused in its criticism for voicing dissatisfaction about NDA government’s performance and moving the no-confidence motion. Telugu Desam Party MP Jayadev Galla who moved the motion and alleged that “both the national parties have crippled Andhra” couldn’t justify this. The public inference is that in the game of politics, numbers matter and the majority decides rights and wrongs.
Despite all these, Shri Galla’s speech in parliament made sense. But, the inadequacy of opposition’s homework came to the fore when their representative was given a chance to respond to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s point by point reply to the allegations made by those who moved and supported the no-confidence motion. End of the day, the opposition representative made remarks about PM’s body language and spent the time granted to him by the speaker explaining why he needed more time, leaving the issues discussed during the day untouched! His response didn’t reflect coordination among the parties which supported the no-confidence motion.
Having said that, we have to give credit to the mature behavior of Lok Sabha after a long interval. Members from Treasury Bench and the opposition patiently sat through the proceedings which lasted hours longer than originally scheduled, listening to opposing views. One wishes, this becomes a beginning for peaceful interaction in both the houses of parliament in future.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan rose to the occasion and helped the house to circumvent several situations which would have resulted in flaring up and affecting the smooth functioning of the house on July 20, 2018. But for her mature handling, the mention of Rafale deal or even Rahul Gandhi’s dramatic hug could have resulted in disruptions and adjournments.
Overall, this no-confidence motion should improve the confidence of the people in Indian democracy and its sanctum sanctorum (legislative houses). Political parties should accept this as a positive message and help improve the conduct of elected representatives at all levels.
M G Warrier, Mumbai
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