THE "FOREIGN HAND" is a familiar trope in Indian politics. As a tumultuous 2024 drew to a close, it was back in circulation. The Parliament's winter session was in a logjam as the principal opposition, the Congress, and the ruling BJP traded allegations over corporate ties, tinged with accusations of foreign influence. The opposition protested the US market body's indictment of billionaire Gautam Adani, perceived as close to the current dispensation. The BJP hit back with Congress leaders' alleged links to George Soros, the Hungarian-American billionaire who it accused of attempting to destabilise the Modi government.
An uneasy truce was brokered as both sides agreed to discuss the 75 years of the Constitution of India. However, that quickly devolved into blame games. The winter session also saw mistrust between the chair and the opposition. In an unprecedented move in India's parliamentary history, a no-confidence motion was brought against Rajya Sabha chairman, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. The motion was rejected by deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh.
Generally, at the heart of these frequent disruptions is the opposition's insistence on discussing contentious issues, which does not appeal to the government. During the second tenure of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, the BJP paralysed the functioning of the Parliament over the coal and 2G scams. Back then, Arun Jaitley, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, defended protests as an "intrinsic part of democracy", arguing obstruction was sometimes necessary to hold the government accountable.
This story is from the January 05, 2025 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the January 05, 2025 edition of THE WEEK India.
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