Opposition now a mere formality
In the second tenure of the United Progressive Alliance government, led by Congress, it is gradually becoming evident that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main Opposition party, is playing like a B-team of the ruling party. Be it price rise, the Bhopal gas tragedy, or the Nuclear Liability Bill, the Congress and the BJP have shown that they have struck deals and have a relationship based on quid pro quo.
If the trend continues, the BJP will soon be bereft of its relevance as the main Opposition party and a time will come when the Congress will rule the country unchallenged.
When the recently concluded session of Parliament began last month, the BJP vigorously publicised through the media that there were a lot of defects in the Nuclear Liability Bill and that the party will oppose it in the Standing Committee. But later, during the session, the news came that the BJP would support the bill. The very next day a news item appeared that the Central Bureau of Investigation had not found any evidence against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
Later, many members in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha asked how the chief minister could be given a clean chit when a minister in the Modi government was in jail in connection with the above case. The proceedings of both Houses were disrupted, but no credible response came either from the ruling Congress or the BJP.
Moreover, throughout the session it was felt that the two parties were working in tandem. Not on a single occasion could the BJP behave like a true Opposition party. What happened on the issue of sky-rocketing prices is for everyone to see. Except for a few days initially, and to my mind this was mere formality, the BJP could not stick to its stand of having a discussion under a rule that entailed voting. Later, the House discussed the issue under Rule 193 which does not call for voting.
Similarly, on the sensitive issue of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the BJP failed to corner the government although Congress was the ruling party at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh when the tragedy occurred. In the circumstances, it seems fairly clear that the two so-called national parties have turned Indian politics into a cricket game in which only the Congress bats and BJP bowls. This has left the others with no option but to field. The great pity for the bowling side is that the pitch is a batting paradise!

$Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, deputy leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the Lok Sabha

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BJP-Congress bonhomie a myth
There is no camaraderie or bonhomie between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. The BJP is the principal Opposition party and we behaved as a responsible Opposition party during the monsoon session. Our support to the government was issue-based, from bill to bill. In the case of the Nuclear Liability Bill, we opposed it in the initial stage because there were certain points in the bill on which we wanted the government to make amendments. If we supported the legislation later, it was only after the government took into account all our concerns. If they had not done so, we would not have supported the measure.
It is wrong to say that there is camaraderie between the principal Opposition party and the ruling dispensation. On this issue, the government met the Left parties as well. There were allegations that we supported the Nuclear Liability Bill because the government decided to give a clean chit to our chief minister in Gujarat, Narendra Modi. I don’t know how such news was concocted. The BJP was accused of using the government in return for support to the Nuclear Liability Bill. Look at the Enemy Property Bill. Like Prithviraj Chavan met us on the Nuclear Liability Bill and incorporated our views, the home minister met us on the Enemy Property Bill. He met me, Arun Jaitley and Advaniji. But we categorically told the government that we will only support the original ordinance in bill form and not the amended version. Although the government did introduce an amendment on the issue that we had sought, we still opposed the measure because you can’t bring a legislation to favour one person while hundreds of others are adversely affected by it.
There are other issues where we criticised the government. On a number of issues we put the government in the dock, including the Commonwealth Games and the Bhopal gas tragedy. On Jammu and Kashmir, we continued to criticise government policy and our stand was entirely different from that of the rest of the House. Therefore, it is wrong to say that we have developed a friendship with the government. The BJP is the principal Opposition party and we would continue to put the government in the dock if we find that its decision on any issue is going against the interest of the people or the nation. Whichever issue we criticise or support, we also go before the people and discuss matters with them as well.

(As told to Yojna Gusai)

$Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition, (Bharatiya Janata Party)