Inaugurating The New Parliament: Something Was Definitely Missing
The India Commentary view
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-05-29 06:40:21
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The India Commentary view
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Watching the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building, it was clear that something was missing. While it was grand and befitting of the occasion, the ceremony lacked warmth and unity as the major opposition parties were missing. Such a solemn and historic occasion demanded that, for the sake of the nation, all political parties participated in the inauguration of the new temple of democracy. But such is the trust deficit between the ruling dispensation and the opposition that it was not to be so.
Both parties were at fault. The government did not make efforts to bring the opposition on board. Instead, when their grievances were made known, BJP leaders started pointing out that several Parliament ceremonies were presided over by Prime Ministers in the past. But those were smaller occasions - this was a whole new building. The government could have, even without going back on its stance, brought the opposition on board through negotiations but it continued to make fun of their boycott and pushed them in a corner. That was not proper.
The opposition, on the other hand, was inflexible from the beginning. It was as if having said that the President should inaugurate the new Parliament building, they were not going to budge from their stand. They had decided that Prime Minister Modi was going for a 'coronation' (as Rahul Gandhi said after the inauguration) and did not want to be part of his alleged PR exercise. But they failed to realize that it is this same new Parliament where they will have to sit from now onwards. They should have also engaged the government to find a solution.
In a democracy, the government has to carry the opposition with it on many occasions. The opposition also has to set aside its political considerations and work with the government on many occasions. The inauguration of a new Parliament was definitely one such occasion. The entire political class failed the nation by adopting such inflexible positions before the historic occasion.
