The Govt and the Opposition would do well to sit together and thrash out their differences

The continued disruption of Parliament is not unexpected. The scale and implications of the Pegasus snooping scandal are so overwhelming that it would have been naive to hope that the Opposition will not use it as a handle to corner the Government.  The relations between the Opposition and the ruling BJP have steadily worsened over the alleged misuse of Central probe agencies. The last nail has been the fact that several Opposition leaders are on the list of those whose phones may have been compromised by Pegasus infections. Still, one would have expected that the two sides would find a middle path and Parliament will dutifully take up its legislative business. But sadly, neither side is ready to blink and the country has to witness yet another round of Parliament logjam, the type of which has become routine over the years. From the Opposition’s point of view, the demand for a debate on the scandal is justified. After all, Parliament is the right forum where such an issue that poses a grave threat to India’s democracy, should be discussed and debated even if the Government were to altogether reject the demand for a probe into the matter.

However, the Government feels that it owes no such favour to the Opposition because it allegedly wants to use the scandal as an opportunity to unite with an eye on the upcoming Assembly polls and presidential elections next year, and the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. Amid such distrust, it will be futile to hope for resumption of Parliament proceedings any sooner, though strategically the Opposition may agree to debate on issues like inflation, fuel price hike and the economic situation — issues that could help it corner the Government. The Pegasus scandal has become a glue to unite the Opposition and those wanting to uproot the Modi Government are working overtime to bring the Opposition on one platform. The unprecedented Opposition unity has emboldened them to stick to the path of confrontation, something which the Government can afford only at the cost of making people further sceptical about the very purpose of the existence of our democratic institutions. It’s time both the ruling dispensation and the Opposition leaders sit down and find a middle path to restore the dignity and relevance of the legislature as one of the strongest pillars of our democratic institutions.