The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the corresponding session of Rajya Sabha were notable for the renewed spirit of parliamentary debate on display, notwithstanding the excessive combativeness and avoidable grandstanding by the government and the Opposition.
The rise of a strong Opposition and the return of coalition politics as the leading party lacks an absolute majority may restore the role of Parliament.
The increase in Opposition numbers can help restore healthy traditions such as more Bills getting scrutinised by parliamentary standing committees.
A robust Opposition can also act as an effective restraint on the government, preventing it from bulldozing opposition with its legislative agenda.
The 17th Lok Sabha not only earned the dubious distinction of having seen the suspension of the most number of Opposition MPs (146 in a single session, including Rajya Sabha MPs) but also functioned without a Deputy Speaker, a post usually reserved for the Opposition.
To underscore this point, the INDIA bloc predicated its support for Om Birla as the Speaker only on the condition that the government agreed to offer it the deputy chair.
The stalemate eventually led to an election between Mr. Birla and Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress), which Mr. Birla won through a voice vote.
The Opposition has urged, roles of the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman to be even-handed.
Parliamentary speeches could do with more humour and less diatribe, but the fact that there was an expanded debate is encouraging.
The Treasury and Opposition benches must understand that their place in the highest seat of democracy is to represent the people who sent them there.
They must find a common sense of purpose and function in a spirit of accommodation.
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