Sir,
A thumping majority may be an achievement for BJP to celebrate but not healthy for Indian Democracy at large. Absence of an effective opposition makes the Government of the day dictatorial and unaccountable and it may pass laws favoring a select few or a particular tribe or group. There are two quotes worth mentioning here, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” and the second one, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. An effective opposition is necessary to provide check and balances in the Government. This was well realized by founding father of US and as such created the different levels of Government i.e Separation of powers. As a true Indian citizen, I am worried and reminded of Nigerian Military Coup of 1960 which originated due to destruction of effective opposition and the rest all is history for us to learn the ill effect of weak opposition in a democracy. We the voters of Indian democracy bestow a solemn faith in our elected representatives whether part of ruling party or the opposition to perform within laid down constitutional limits. There are few examples in our independent history where the absolute powers in the form of absolute majority made leaders unaccountable for their act injuring the national interest and weak opposition failed to keep them under checks and balances.
It may not be right to hold political parties responsible for such larger mandates exercised in their favor but the election fog created by them affects the decision of voters causing such democratic imbalance among ruling and opposition parties. Leaders of the previous ruling parties have been advocating the ways and means to reduce the size of their opponents without realizing their effective participation in the governance and the larger interest of the masses. A cordial and working relation between ruling and opposition parties enriches our democracy resulting in fruitful governance. An absolute majority bestowed to any political party proves inimical to the federal structure as well. It raises the urge of the union to spread its political ideology across the federations with sole aim to enhance its power further which ultimately strengthens the party and not the system for welfare of state.
The living example of BJP achieving control of almost 20 states of the Indian Union,wiping out the presence of their major opponent resulted in many law and order issues. We therefore expect leaders of the ruling alliance to set limits for their cadre to follow and contain them self-checked and balanced to achieve furtherance of our democracy and not their political party. Another area of concern is the autonomy of National Institutes and Judiciary that should remain free of Government interference and allowed to function as per constitutional mandate. We actually ignore variety of ideological options and create monopolistic set up to control our destiny thereafter. Let us pray for healthy and effective working relation between ruling and opposition parties in the larger interest of the state.
Wg Cdr (Retd) Mahesh Chander Sudan
Sainik Colony Jammu
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