Just where is the Opposition?

A good functioning democracy is based on a Constitution, institutions created by the Constitution and those which develop as and when the need arises. Broadly speaking, our Constitution seeks to work through the executive, the legislature and the judicial wings. We may add to this the media. During the last seven decades, the political wing has gradually taken a very dominating position. The other important parts of the executive, the bureaucracy and the law and order machinery, have become more or less handmaidens of the ruling parties. Initially the judiciary appeared to play its designated constitutional role; for a short while, it even looked as if it was encroaching on the executive’s sphere. However, this trend has been reversed and the judiciary also appears to be a silent observer. Considering the ascendancy of the political parties in government, the role of another part of the political setup becomes extremely important — the Opposition.

I would like to give a few examples from some other democracies. Whenever the US Senate and House of Representatives are well balanced and there is a working relationship with the President, the system works effectively. However, if both the Houses and the President come from the same party, the executive can steamroll its way. Even during such times, a vociferous Opposition, alert judiciary and non-partisan media can be an effective check, as seen in the recent impeachment trial of the President. CNN has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and one has seen many cases where courts have blocked decisions made by the President. A similar situation can be seen in the UK, where there is a strong party system and media keeps things in check. In South Asia and S-E Asia, the political scene is usually dominated by a single party and its leadership tends to become more authoritarian, as seen from time to time in Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, etc. Some like Pakistan turn into downright dictatorships.

Coming to our very own country, to begin with, we had an almost single party rule i.e. the INC, at the Centre and in the states. However, the Opposition was allowed to function freely, as was the media. Gradually, however, centralisation of power began taking place from the time of Mrs Gandhi. The culmination was the proclamation of Emergency in 1975. Most of the Opposition leaders and even some of the media barons were imprisoned. No dissent was tolerated. However, the Opposition had tall leaders and the people were generally dissatisfied with the harshness with which the executive dealt with them. As a result, a strong movement came up which led to the withdrawal of Emergency and calling of fresh elections in 1977, which saw the ouster of Mrs Gandhi. However, the governments formed during 1977-80 were unable to come up to the people’s expectations and Mrs Gandhi was swept back to power in 1980. This period also saw the rise of the BJP, Janata Party, CPM, CPI and regional parties, especially in the South.

The Opposition and the media were far more active. The Rajiv era again saw a very strong role of the Opposition and the decade from 1990 was marked by political instability and very divisive movements led by the BJP and its front organisations. This period saw the Election Commission under TN Seshan becoming a formidable force. Thereafter, the NDA and UPA I were periods of relative political stability except for inner-coalition turbulence. The Opposition parties remained very active, as did the media. With the formation of UPA-II and exposure of scandals, the Opposition led by the BJP came into its own. The media also played a very significant role but it started becoming increasingly partisan in favour of the Opposition. The NDA, under the charismatic leadership of Mr Modi, swept into power in 2014. Even with events like faulty GST and demonetisation and a faltering economy, the Opposition could not get its act together. The NDA came back to power on the back of a tsunami in 2019.

The Opposition did not know what had hit them and were disorganised, demoralised — the Congress had and still has a leadership problem. The CPM is in the wilderness and engaged in fratricidal wars between its Kerala and Bengal units — it does not exist elsewhere, as does the CPI. With an absolute majority, a non-confrontational judiciary, a compliant bureaucracy and virtually non-existent Opposition, the PMO has started concentrating power in its own hand. It has also started speeding the implementation of its core agenda, without much debate and opposition. The media has been virtually co-opted, with a few honourable exceptions. Communal polarisation is going on in a subtle and not so subtle manner.

The states have been marginalised, the regional parties brought to heel. Whenever the Congress has won, it has been ousted through brazen use of state power. Today, the economy is in a shambles, the country is in the grip of Covid-19, lakhs of labourers are out of jobs, industry is shut.

In the midst of all this, where is the Opposition? Where are the protests? Where are the judiciary and the media? Lakhs of immigrants have been on the roads for over 40 days and not a single senior leader has met them, talked to them or about them.

Only after they started getting violent that people sat up. Now they’ve become a football between the Centre and the states. First their own states did not want them back and now the dispute is over who will pay for the tickets. It is only after Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s offer to pay that there’s been a reaction — not out of sympathy, but for political considerations. Once again, where is the Opposition? The Left, the Congress and other parties used to have kisan and student federations, industry and bank unions, teacher unions… where are they? Has the Opposition thrown in the towel? Why don’t the leaders give way to youngsters?

Great parties, especially while in the Opposition, do not hide behind national spokespersons or indulge in clever reactive tweets. They analyse as to what has gone wrong and have internal debates about remedial measures. They draw up plans on economic revival, social upliftment, better health and educational facilities. Once a broad plan has been drawn up, the Opposition goes to the people, fights for it in legislature. Then it goes to the media and demands its share of space. Take your plan to Parliament, to the people, to the media and if you do not do all of this, then you will be responsible for pushing the country towards one-party rule.

The writer is ex-chairman of UPSC & former Manipur Governor