Monsoon Session Loses Out in the Joust Between Congress and BJP

In the midst of Congress’ new brand of aggressive politics and BJP’s defence, it’s the monsoon session that suffered.

At Loggerheads

• The vicious below-the-belt exchanges between Sushma Swaraj and Rahul Gandhi mark a new low, surpassing past parliamentary brawls by far
• It is clear that the Modi government is no longer in a position to negotiate with the Congress
• Congress President Sonia Gandhi appears to have now bought in to Rahul’s new brand of aggressive politics

The unprecedented mudslinging match between the two main national parties, BJP and the Congress, witnessed inside the Lok Sabha on the penultimate day of the monsoon session has raised a disturbing question mark over the future of parliamentary democracy in the country. The vicious below-the-belt exchanges between the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi marks a new low, surpassing past parliamentary brawls between senior leaders by far.

So much so that Sharad Pawar, perhaps India’s most seasoned active politician with nearly half a century of experience in the Parliament and Legislative Assembly, lamented in an interview that he had “never seen such bitterness in the House”.

The nasty tone and tenor of the discourse speaks for itself. “Ask your mama how much money was taken from Quattrocchi, why did daddy allow the release of the killer of fifteen thousand people”, taunted Sushma Swaraj of Rahul Gandhi. The latter hit back claiming the BJP leader had lowered her gaze when he confronted her. “So on one side mataji and on the other side family…. On one side money and on the other side permission. .. Mataji, parivar, paisa, permission … I want to place before you this link” jeered the Gandhi dynasty scion.

Inept Handling

The slugfest between such key political figures of the two national parties could have been dismissed as cheap entertainment had it not been for the alarming fissures in the political landscape it reveals. It is becoming abundantly clear that the Modi government is no longer in a position to negotiate with the Congress.

Since the government is simultaneously handicapped by an uneasy relationship with most other Opposition parties, this communication breakdown with the Congress, which can stall key legislation in the Rajya Sabha, has disastrous implications, both, for the ruling dispensation and the country.

Significantly, while Sushma Swaraj’s emotional outburst has hogged the headlines, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pointed silence and his conspicuous absence from the heated parliamentary debate that actually underlines the grim political realities of the situation.

Logjam: Who’s to Blame?

Over the past several months, Mr Modi has made it clear through various gestures, like forcing a bitterly disputed amended Land Bill through repeated ordinances or his dogged refusal to comment on Lalitgate and Vyapam, that he was simply not ready to engage with the Opposition.

Indeed there is little doubt that behind the clumsy and inept handling by the ruling party in getting key legislation through is the Prime Minister’s own disinterest or inability to work out a deal with the Congress and other Opposition parties; for example, conceding a political victory on the Land Bill in return for a smooth passage of GST.

To make matters worse, the Congress, under the new leadership of Rahul Gandhi, appears to be on the warpath. The Congress Vice President has decided almost overnight to transform himself from a tongue-tied reluctant political apprentice of his mother to a belligerent activist leader who does not seem to even know how to spell the word compromise. He has relentlessly pushed the party towards confrontation with the ruling establishment, gathering around him a shouting brigade of young Congress MPs and marginalising the older, more sober elements in the party.

New Brand of Politics

Interestingly, his mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, a cautious politician by nature who had so far sought to restrain her son from brash moves, appears to have now bought in to his new brand of aggressive politics.

This is apparent from the new body language of the Congress supremo who has been seen over the last few days of parliamentary drama repeatedly wagging her finger and waving her fist in demonstrations inside and outside the House. She even rushed to the Well for the first time in her political career.

It is surely an indication that the Gandhi scion has finally taken over the reins of Congress leadership from his mother, even without a formal handover, and the 130-year-old party is about to undergo yet another transition.

The country is now faced with the daunting prospect of an escalating battle of wills between two otherwise widely dissimilar political personalities Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi but with the common characteristic of invariably choosing conflict over reconciliation.

(The writer is a Delhi-based senior journalist)