When the Parliament session concludes on August 7 (or, as is being speculated, is further extended by another two days), the Narendra Modi Government will have the satisfaction of having completed the most productive Budget-cum-monsoon session. I doubt if any other Parliament session in recent memory — or, indeed, ever —has accomplished so much in such a short span.
The relentless pace was perhaps necessary. The previous two sessions of Parliament, which coincided with the run-up to the general election, had been disasters. A buoyant Opposition, convinced that Modi was fast approaching his expiry date, had done its utmost to disrupt proceedings. This was more difficult in the Lok Sabha where the BJP and its allies had a conclusive majority. Yet, the Opposition did succeed in making a mockery of the proceedings by chanting slogans incessantly and even hurling paper rockets at the Treasury benches. Whatever legislation was passed in the Lok Sabha was successfully stalled in the Rajya Sabha, a House where the NDA did not have a majority. While this was understandable in the context of the Triple Talaq and Citizenship Bills where there were sharp disagreements, the disruptions extended to important areas of governance that included the Medical Council Bill, amendments to the Bankruptcy Act and the much-needed Motor Vehicles Bill. The Trinamool Congress, convinced of its role in setting the terms of Opposition unity, took the lead in boisterous conduct, but the Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Samajwadi Party weren’t far behind.
What is significant about the present session of Parliament is that the Modi Government has more or less cleared the backlog. As of this weekend only the Citizenship Bill is outstanding but there are still a few working days left. I, at least, will not be surprised if a modified Citizenship Bill —the earlier one was scrutinised by a Joint Committee of both Houses — is introduced and even passed.
The belief that the Modi Government is determined to pursue a searing pace in its second term stems from the adroitness with which it secured the passage of the Triple Talaq Bill.
The importance of this piece of social legislation that put a seal of criminal disapproval on the iniquitous practice of Triple Talaq in the Muslim community should not be underestimated. Although it was the Supreme Court that led the way, the Government followed it up with exemplary determination. Predictably, it was not the Lok Sabha which passed the Bill on three separate occasions that was the problem. Once again it was the Rajya Sabha that constituted the hurdle.
The manner in which the Bill was finally passed in the Upper House may have offended the purists but it spoke of the determination of the Government to pursue its political agenda. First, there were the strategic resignations of Opposition members and the defection to the BJP of four MPs belonging to the regional parties. This was followed by ensuring tactical abstentions of parties such as the Janata Dal (United) and the AIADMK which, for different reasons, could not be seen to be opposing the organised might of Muslim political opinion. Finally, the Government was helped by the fact that a demoralised Congress failed to act as a magnet for the rest of the Opposition. This was not merely a failure of floor management but indicative of the larger demoralisation and confusion that has gripped the party post-March 23.
The dispirited nature of the Congress is painfully apparent to all. Regardless of what Rahul Gandhi exactly had in mind when he announced his unwillingness to continue as Congress president, the net effects have been devastating. In different parts of the country, prominent local stalwarts of the party are deserting what appears to be a rudderless ship and joining the BJP which, in turn, doesn’t really know how to accommodate them. This trend has been most marked in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, there is an orchestrated clamour to replace Rahul with his sister Priyanka Vadra on the strength of a small protest she led in eastern Uttar Pradesh. To the loyalists this protest was reminiscent of Indira Gandhi’s show in Belchi, Bihar, where she arrived at an atrocity venue in 1978. However, Indira’s comeback trail between 1978 and 1980 was facilitated by the in-fighting in the Janata Party between Morarji Desai and Charan Singh. In today’s BJP, not only is Modi the undisputed leader but has a formidable deputy in Home Minister Amit Shah who combines shrewdness with exemplary competence.
There are many on the outside who imagine that Shah’s hold is on the strength of fear. They overlook the fact that it is essentially based on a profound respect for his political insights. Even in Parliament, Shah combines a deep knowledge of his brief with an ability to take on the Opposition frontally. His parliamentary exchanges with Asaduddin Owaisi in the Lok Sabha and Digvijay Singh in the Rajya Sabha have enhanced his stature in the BJP considerably.
Those who imagine that the Centre is a one-man show are mistaken. In the first Modi Government, the Prime Minister ran the Government and Shah ran the party. Today, Modi has moved to an even higher plane and Shah combines his de-facto overlordship of the BJP with operational control of the Government. It is a formidable combination and one that has paralysed the Opposition both within and outside Parliament.
More to the point, the Modi-Shah duo have a clear political agenda for a New India. In the coming days we may see more and more details of the project being unveiled.
