The Opposition needs to throw up a worthy alternative to the BJP in the next LS polls
In an overt attempt to rally the non-NDA parties against the BJP ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has again sounded the bugle for the Opposition parties to unite. Ridiculing the strength of the saffron outfit in Parliament and most of the State Assemblies, she asserted that the BJP was in power at the Centre only because people didn’t see a viable alternative to it, not because it was worthy of leading them, and that it would be ousted the day the Opposition cobbled up a strong enough recourse. To achieve this end, she advocated coming together of her party, the TMC, along with other like-minded groups in the Opposition camp. She actually does have a point. As per the Constitution, the main role of the Opposition in Indian democracy is to question the Government of the day and hold it accountable to the public. This also helps fix the ruling party’s mistakes or oversight. The Opposition must ensure that the Government does not take any steps which might have a negative effect on our nation. Its role in the legislature is basically to check the excesses of the ruling or dominant party, but not to be totally antagonistic.
In fact, as recently as on November 26, 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind had underlined that the “Opposition is, in fact, the most important element of democracy”. Be it the AAP or other satraps in States across India, it is vital to have a vibrant Opposition. But sadly, they practically stand no chance in the face of the brute majority the BJP-led NDA enjoys in Parliament. For all practical purposes, the Opposition benches are lying vacant or their members are in a state of suspended animation. Of late, however, Mamata, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and their Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin are trying their best to create ripples in Parliament and take the formidable BJP to task over issues of regional and national importance. At the national level, the Congress is in a moribund state but if it performs well in the just-concluded Assembly polls, the necessity to carry it along will become all the more imperative. These leaders need to draw more politicians with a good pan-India image into their fold; also, they should speak in one voice. Any infighting well before the final push may sound the death knell for Opposition unity and its ambition.