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| Opposition divided- Budget session slowly turning lacklustre | | | Bashir Assad
Jammu, Mar 15; The ensuing budget session of J & K legislative assembly, which commenced in a charged atmosphere with the opposition parties which include Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), National Panthers Party (NPP), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), CPI(M), and PDF carrying a brief full of issues sufficient enough to corner the ruling Nation Conference-Congress coalition government, is turning lacklustre and the press gallery which would remain packed earlier is slowly emptying as the stuff for news and news-makers getting exhausted for varying reasons. As a matter of fact each assembly session has its significance in a number of ways and even some sessions are historically significant in democratic arrangement.
It merits a mention here that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had -a couple of days before the commencement of the budget session- said he did not expect the coming session of the Assembly to be smooth as the government faced a 'destructive opposition'.
"We do have, unfortunately, a fairly destructive opposition in the State. I hope we can convert what has otherwise been a destructive sort of mindset into a more constructive one," Omar was quoted as having said on February 21 and had also said there was no issue, which the government was not willing to discuss.
"There is no subject that is off the table. We only hope that House is allowed to function and people's genuine concerns are addressed in the Assembly," Omar had said.However, it is a matter of fact that nobody expects any legislative assembly session to be silk-smooth and without wrangling here and there. There are times and occasions when spirits run high and members behave like ragging college students. Sometimes they exchange sarcastic aspersions and insinuations, lambastes and repartees. All this makes the assembly what it should be. Representatives of people are supposed to open their mouth and speak out what they need to speak. It is a forum where mouth speaks not might and raison d'être reign not deride.
Why is it so that the session is turning to be an average one? There are varied reasons behind this.
One, the opposition in the state assembly is divided with BJP, NPP not interested to raise the issues having wider ramifications like corruption, institutional decay, governance deficit instead the Jammu based opposition is beating the old drums by raising the conventional issues mostly the ones having no scope in the present scenario. However the BJP and NPP members did not make any comment and preferred to maintain a silence on the issue like Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association Scam and notices issued by State Accountability Commission (SAC) to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other ministers on corruption charges. On this account PDP was isolated.
Second; the two stalwarts M Y Tarigami of CPI(M) and Harshdev Singh of NPP who were enjoying a good repute in public for raising their voice against the institutionalization of corrupt in the state, could not raise their voice in the House-the way they were known for. Rather, Tarigami on occasions gave a clean chit to the ministers who have amazed wealth disproportionate to their disclosed sources of income. There is no denying the fact that PDP can draw political mileage by raising such issues but this is also a fact that non-other than party raised the issues and the stalwarts were watching as mute spectators. Of course, at times it becomes difficult for Speaker Muhammad Akbar Lone to conduct the business in charged atmosphere but it is also a fact that all other opposition parties and individuals did not utter a single word particularly when these issues were racked by PDP. Of, course, Harshdev Singh and Tarigami spoke during discussion on Motion of Thanks on Governors address and then on the budget and raised the issue of corruption but why is it so that they remained silent whenever the corruption issue with specific references was racked in the House.
Third, PDP too have not many good orators who could have in-depth study of the issues. In fact, Muzaffer Hussain Baig is the one and only capable and competent parliamentarian in the state who could raise the issues with reason and logic.
Of course, allegations are made, substantiated and refuted; apologies are often sought and seldom tendered. Clash and confrontation can happen at any time and on any issue. Members can make forays into the well of the house, snatch the mikes and hurl chairs, and in some cases tear clothes and roughed up colleagues by using unparliamentarily and foul language so much so that marshals have to be called in to separate the wranglers.
Yet amid all this commotion and clamour, the peoples' representatives are wide conscious and passionately united when issues of common interest like corruption and crime arise something which is missing in the state assembly. At occasions opposition makes an impressive show of solidarity and unity, bullying the government and forcing it to come to knees but again missing here.
The land grabbing scams, JKCA Scam, fund diversion complaints, discriminatory allocations, miss-management of allocations owing to inefficiency, misappropriations of huge public money, mishandling of law and order problems, abandoning of projects half way, lackadaisical attitude towards various public demands, abandoning of various projects including power generation, unfulfilled promises even backtracking from its commitments, had provided an opportunity to the opposition to unitedly force the government to come to knees which did not happen.
As for the government, it has every right to defend itself and prove the allegations levelled against it other way round and so for it has don that job efficiently by raising slogans, chore machai shor, shor ………shor!!!! |
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