In December 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party released a ‘chargesheet’ against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party ahead of Delhi assembly election. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal responded, quoting Sant Kabir Das: “Our culture teaches Nindak niyare rakhiye – keep your critics close. We will read their chargesheet. Whatever good suggestions are there, we will implement them in the next five years.” It’s anybody’s guess how Kejriwal treated his nindak’s suggestions later.
INDIA, the Opposition grouping of which Kejriwal is also a part, may, however, do well to follow Kabir’s advice. They must listen to Union home minister Amit Shah’s reply to the debate on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2023, last Thursday. The bill seeks to replace the ordinance that essentially takes away control of government officers from ministers or the elected government and passes it on to the Centre.
Shah made broadly three points to tear the Opposition apart. First, why’s it that they stopped disruptions for the Delhi bill? Do they even care about bills concerning day-to-day life of citizens? “Since the current Parliament session started, nine bills were passed. For the first time, the opposition took part in the debate on the Delhi services bill. All bills were important in their own ways. If you are worried about democracy, every bill is important…. Saheb, na democracy ki chinta hai, na desh ki chinta hai, na Janata ki chinta hai, these people have come to save their alliance,” said Amit Shah.
His second point was basically a big question on the Opposition’s sincerity about the issues they raise. “They say discuss Manipur. We are ready to discuss Manipur but no, you will protest, not discuss…. The moment it came to a break in the alliance, they didn’t remember Manipur, didn’t remember democracy or even riots….” said Shah.
His third point was the fallacy of the Opposition’s support to the Kejriwal government in the name of saving democracy and rights of an elected government. “Whenever political speeches are to be given, responsibilities are to be evaded, assembly’s privileges are to be used, somebody is to be abused, a half-day session (of Delhi Assembly) is called and then it’s adjourned! Have you ever seen such a government?” asked the Union home minister. In 2020, only one assembly session was convened. Same in 2021, 2022 and 2023, said Shah. That, too, because the Budget had to be passed. As for the responsibilities of an elected government, there were only six Cabinet meetings in 2022. Three of them were related to the Budget. There have been only two Cabinet meetings in 2023 so far.
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AAP’s questionable conduct
Let’s look at Amit Shah’s third point first: How does INDIA defend the elected government in Delhi when it’s treating the Assembly as the AAP’s propaganda arm? See what transpired during the one-day special assembly session in April. The assembly passed a resolution against PM Modi for “unleashing” the CBI and the ED “to crush AAP”. This came a day after the CBI questions Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case. “Clearly, the PM is scared of only one person whose name is Kejriwal,” read the resolution. Speaking in the assembly, the Delhi CM spoke of an unpadh raajaa (illiterate king) who was chauthee (Class IV) pass.
It’s nobody’s case that the CBI and the ED are paragons of virtue and fairness. Nor has anyone any issue with the AAP lawmakers’ thinking that PM Modi is scared of Kejriwal. But convening a special assembly session just for this!
And what about Amit Shah’s claim about the Delhi Cabinet meeting once in two-three months on an average?
The Delhi services bill is, of course, about the Centre undermining an elected government. But when such a government starts playing around with legislative rules and procedures and renders its Cabinet irrelevant, those wanting to defend it must reset their moral compass. In defending the AAP government, the Congress has embarrassed its leaders in Delhi and Punjab and undermined its own prospects. Shah said that the AAP government in Delhi wanted control of the vigilance department to hide corruption. In the 16 months that the AAP has been in power in Punjab, four former Cabinet ministers have been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau for alleged corruption and the Bhagwant Mann-led government has ordered probe against half-a-dozen other senior Congress leaders, including a former CM and a deputy CM.
It’s an irony that the Congress is now fighting for the empowerment of the AAP government in Delhi.
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Nuh can wait
Let’s come to Amit Shah’s second point — that the opposition forgot about Manipur and even riots when it came to the Delhi bill. He was obviously referring to Haryana riots.
Come to think of it. Six people are killed in communal violence in Nuh and Gurgaon in Haryana—right on the outskirts of Delhi. There is a BJP-led government in Haryana. And the home minister of the BJP-led government at the Centre was taunting the Opposition for not talking about those communal riots! They didn’t disrupt proceedings in Parliament to discuss those riots in Delhi’s neighbourhood! Whether the mobs comprised Muslims or whether provocations came from Rightwing Hindu organisations, the opposition’s relative silence said a lot about their convictions.
Skipping the important debate
Coming to Amit Shah’s first point now: How come the opposition returned to the Lok Sabha to discuss the Delhi bill when they were least bothered about nine other bills? The Centre’s failures in Manipur and Modi’s silence have upset many across India. The opposition was right in attacking the government. But what explains their indifference to a host of bills? The Indian Institute of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023 severely undermines the autonomy of IIMs, with the government seeking to take control.
The opposition had nothing to say about it. The Jan Vishwas Bill led to a huge debate whether it was letting off manufacturers of substandard medicines with simple fines.
The opposition had little to say about it. Then there were Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill and Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, to name just a couple of more. These bills also concerned millions of people. Again, the opposition had nothing to contribute.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram wrote in his weekly column in The Sunday Express that the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Bill and the GNCTD (Amendment) Bill were examples of using parliamentary legislation “to impose a centralised and authoritarian model of government”. He cited specific provisions in those bills to bolster his arguments.
His colleagues aren’t bothered. It’s not just about this session or these bills. This has been the trend for most of the last nine years. The Congress has been so focused on attacking PM Modi and his image that it has forgotten to tell voters where it stands on substantive issues concerning different sections of the people. As for Chidambaram, his party or colleagues like Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi don’t even share his columns from social media handles.
On Friday, Congress MP Manish Tewari put up a very spirited and reasoned opposition to the introduction of the Digital Data Protection Bill in the Lok Sabha, saying that it’s in “complete contradiction” to the fundamental right of privacy. There are also apprehensions about the bill exempting the government on several counts of data breach. Remember the reported leakage of personal details of vaccinated people from CoWIN?
Even after Manish Tewari raised the red flag about this contentious bill, there are few takers in the Congress. So, how would the party justify its ignorance and indifference to bills affecting people’s day-to-day lives?
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The excuse
Trust Congress leaders to say that they were caught up in a numbers’ game in the Rajya Sabha. They wanted discussion on Manipur under Rule 267, not Rule 176. Essentially, the second entailed a short-duration discussion for a maximum of two-and-a-half-hours while the first would facilitate discussion without a time limit. Besides, the opposition wanted PM Modi to make a statement inside Parliament.
The Opposition looks so convinced that a statement by Modi followed by a long-duration discussion would give INDIA a huge momentum and edge over the BJP running up to the installation of the next government in 2024. Think of the plight of common people, hearing leaders talk about 267 and 176 without end. For common people like me, it might sound something like the Opposition wanting the BJP to be reduced to 267 MPs and the BJP wanting to limit INDIA to 176 in 2024. But why to debate it in the Rajya Sabha? Forget it. Poor joke.
What started as a genuine protest over the Centre’s and the PM’s apathy to Manipur has come to look like a battle of egos between the Opposition and the treasury benches. There is no winner anymore and the BJP may not mind it. The Opposition obsessing over one issue per Parliament session – and forgetting it by the next session – should make Modi happy and secure. He must be itching to reply to the debate on the no-confidence motion on Thursday.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)