Opposition mustn't dismiss Modi’s outreach
The Treasury bench’s reconciliatory efforts come as a breath of fresh air in an otherwise putrid atmosphere of allegations and counter-allegations, cheap name-calling and high-pitched outrage. Such was the political climate even a few days ago that it was an almost foregone conclusion that yet another Parliament session will be washed out because the ruling coalition and the Opposition won’t get on the same page. However, the situation seems to have improved since then, with senior leaders of the Government, starting right at the top with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making a collective appeal for consensus-building over partisan politics. It started with Mr Modi inviting his predecessor Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to tea so as to find common ground on the crucial Goods and Services Tax Bill. last week, Mr Modi also highlighted the importance of “consensus above majority” in the lower House of Parliament. And on Tuesday, he reiterated those sentiments in the upper House when he called upon all leaders to look beyond the partisan paksh-vipaksh paradigm and take a nishpaksh (bipartisan) view.
Moreover, the Prime Minister hasn't just been issuing homilies — he has also made a genuine effort to engage with the Opposition on almost all their contentious issues. Take the ‘intolerance debate' as an example: The Opposition has been drumming up this issue and the Prime Minister had been taking flak for ‘ignoring’ it altogether. But now he has taken the bull by the horns, making clear that while “there will be many excuses for disintegration in a diverse country like India, it is our responsibility to unite people”. Also, in a clear reference to the army of hotheads that often conflate any criticism of the Government with sedition, the Prime Minister said that “nobody in the country needs to give a certificate of his or her patriotism”. In another effort to calm the frayed nerves of the Opposition, he acknowledged that India today is a result of the tapasya of its past Governments and leaders. Specifically, he highlighted Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s contributions and conceded to the Opposition's demands on the Constitution Day resolution wording regarding a stated commitment to the nation's “secular and socialist character”.
Echoing Mr Modi's thoughts, Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh said that the Government was willing to take all steps to address the intolerance issue and maintain peace. He even requested the eminent personalities who had returned their national awards in protest to discuss their grievances with the Government. Specifically on the Dadri incident and the murder of academic MM Kalburgi, he assured critics that if the State administrations ask for a Central probe, the Centre will approve it. On similar lines, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Venkaiah Naidu highlighted that the Government was ready to walk the extra mile with the Opposition so that good work can be done and delivered — and the credit shared by all parties. Meanwhile, his colleague in the Finance Ministry has already been talking with Opposition leaders to address their concerns. Clearly, the Government has initiated welcome measures. The question is: Will the Opposition respond in the same spiritIJ