Editorial: A saner session

Srinagar: As the budget session of the assembly is all set to be taking place in Jammu, the government has started its exercise of reaching out to the opposition members. The sessions that is scheduled during the first week of January is all the more important as the autumn session of the assembly that was to be held in the summer capital was cancelled and no session was held to discuss and debate the issues that confront the masses.

The move of reaching out to the opposition has come from no other than the Chief Minister herself. The Chief Minister has asked the opposition to put aside political differences and work together to ensure an efficient session.

The Chief Minister’s outreach has come at a time when the opposition including the leading party National Conference is at logger heads with the government. The opposition has been labeling many of the government moves as right wing influenced as the PDP is sharing the power with rightwing party, BJP.

Apart from NC, the Congress too is not comfortably placed with the government. The  Congress has been openly targeting the PDP after elections to the Anantnag Parliamentary constituency were cancelled and the state Chief of the Congress was denied of a chance of making it to the Parliament as he was a joint candidate of the opposition for the elections.

Given such a situation, can the government expect a friendly opposition that too at a time when the PDP has played another irate move of nominating the Chief Ministers brother as a Member of the Legislative Council and later getting him into the Ministry also.

The grapevine has it that the PDP is contemplating to induct the Junior Mufti in the cabinet, a move that is going to give lot of ammunition to the opposition to target the ruling coalition for promoting dynasty politics.

Tasaduq Mufti who also resigned today as co-coordinator of the Chief Ministers cell has now confirmed the governments intentions. The move in itself has made it all the more difficult for the government to let the budget session be an easy going affair. 

However, irrespective of the governments follies or wrong moves the opposition too is hard pressed for taking up issues that have confronted the people at large-mostly in the troubled Kashmir Valley. The lack of governance has been one such issue which has led to increased sufferings among the masses.

Presently, the Valley is in the grip of severe winter and crisis in such a scenario are felt at every level. As such the opposition has to take a holistic view and get the discussions and debates going on so that these issues are highlighted.    

The face-off between the government and opposition is the last thing that the people may want at this juncture. There are relevant issues that need to be urgently debated in the assembly.

Unfortunately, that seems not to be the case. Political parties have made a habit of shouting each other down on the floor of the house, instead of conducting a coherent, well-informed debate on policy issues.

Repeated adjournments and suspension of legislative business seem to have become the norm rather than aberration. As the main opposition party, the NC and the Congress share equal responsibility with the ruling combine to uphold the fine tradition of debate and discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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