Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Keep talking

Keep talking

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Nov 30, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 30, 2011
-The Indian Express
 
After a week of parliamentary gridlock over retail reform, it appears as though both government and opposition are getting too used to this state of stalemate, the squandering of precious parliamentary time over one thing or the other. The constant adjournments, disruptions and boycotts over the last three sessions have, by now, seriously undermined Parliament — blocking important legislation, putting showy partisanship above the nation’s real needs.

Is the question of FDI in retail really a battle worth suspending parliamentary functions for? After all, the executive order leaves it open to various states to take it or leave it, and all parties opposed to the idea can use their clout in state assemblies to block it. On the other hand, if various parties still want a discussion in Parliament to ventilate their own points of view, the government must give in. The BJP’s belligerence, at least, is purely intended to show their small-trader constituency that the party fought for their interests. They, and other parties, should be allowed these rhetorical contests on the floor of the House. The government also loses nothing by fleshing out its own arguments for retail FDI in Parliament — in fact, a thorough discussion would be the way to move from empty ideological certainties to more qualified assessments on the impact of the move, which could then also inform the state-level debates to follow. Meanwhile, eight Congress MPs demand a discussion in Parliament on the Telangana question — one that must also be frontally faced and discussed in the House. Parliamentary debate is not a formality to be dispensed with — it is the only way to test the strength of various arguments, to examine them for evasions and inconsistencies, in order to find the best way forward. Both the opposition and the government must be blamed for abandoning their duty to the democratic process. There is no miraculous solvent that will dissolve the differences between parties on many of these contentious issues, but these differences must be synthesised in Parliament.

The government must make some real attempt to persuade, make full use of the arts of floor management and accommodate the opposition’s concerns as much as possible. The opposition, equally, must realise that they are frittering away public trust and goodwill with their obduracy. Indeed, the opposition parties must know that they don’t just embarrass the government by stalling Parliament — they implicate themselves in the policy drift at the Centre.


The Indian Express, 30 November, 2011, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/keep-talking/882053/


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close