New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday underscored the constructive role of the opposition in a healthy democracy as the 17th Lok Sabha was convened. Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House, PM Modi said, “Every word of the opposition is valuable… The Opposition need not bother about their numbers. I hope they speak actively and participate in the house proceedings”.
The opposition has been in disarray after their shock defeat in the recently concluded national elections and is yet to hold a strategy session – customary before every session of parliament. The monsoon session begins on Monday, during which the government will present the budget and focus on a few key bills after the members take oath and a Speaker is chosen.
“When we come to parliament, we should forget about paksh and vipaksh (government and opposition). We should think about issues with a nishpaksh (impartial) spirit and work in the larger interest of the nation,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
The opposition has suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the ruling BJP, which scooped up more than 300 seats in the recent elections. The Congress’s tally has disqualified it yet again for the post of the Leader of the Opposition. The party, which is still contending with Rahul Gandhi’s decision to step down as the party chief, is yet to choose its leaders for the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP has a huge majority in the Lok Sabha – the party won 303 seats in the national elections, a jump over its last time’s score of 282 – making for smooth sailing of any bill in the lower house.
But in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house, it still has a numerical disadvantage. The NDA has only 102 members in the 245-member upper house. This might affect the passing of key bills, like the bill against “Triple Talaq”, which is likely to be introduced in this session.
PM Modi had reached out to the opposition on Sunday as well at an all-party meeting and asked the attending leaders to “introspect whether members of parliament are able to fulfil people’s aspirations as their representatives”. He also thanked the leaders for their suggestions.
