Copyright © 2010 Times of India
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Instances of the Congress and BJP agreeing on anything are all too rare. That’s why the praise heaped by BJP chief ministers, including Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, on the Congress-led UPA government is welcome. Home minister P C Chidambaram as well as the Union home secretary both came in for a pat on the back from BJP CMs for their handling of internal security. It shows to some extent a maturing of the Indian polity where the two big political parties seem to have agreed that on national security there must not be any compromise.
Bipartisanship is all too rare in Indian democracy. Far too often we have seen opposition parties protesting government policies just for the sake of it. This was on display during the immediate aftermath of 26/11. Soon after the Mumbai attacks, the BJP chose to criticise the UPA government on its handling of security and to make it an issue in state polls. This, however, did not pay any dividend for the BJP with voters apparently choosing not to get swayed by divisive policies at a time of national crisis. Terrorism is one of the biggest threats that India, and indeed the world, faces at the moment. We cannot afford to play politics on securing the country against possible terror attacks. It is heartening that both the Congress and BJP seem to have realised that the country expects the political class to tackle the danger of terrorism unitedly.
This is, however, not just about terrorism. It is also about our culture of democracy. It is time that our political parties realise what it means to be in the opposition and how to play that role responsibly. Ever since the Congress dominance at the Centre was broken after the 1977 general elections, we have developed a culture of parties indiscriminately going hammer and tongs at the governing party. All parties, including the Congress, have been guilty of this.
In a mature democracy, the opposition must play a constructive role. This does happen in countries such as the US and UK where there is bipartisan support for policies that are deemed crucial for the country. This, of course, does not mean that the opposition sits on the sideline and watches. It is incumbent on the opposition to keep the government on its toes. Hence the BJP criticism of the government on its inability to check the rise in the prices of essential commodities is absolutely valid. But on issues such as national security and terrorism, the government and opposition must work together through Parliament and other forums to work out the best possible policies. Let’s hope that the BJP’s olive branch to the government signals a trend.
