Parliament amidst Pandemic

The working of a public institution in India is contingent upon political context, apart from being deeply interlinked with other vital ins­titutions. Hence, the relationship between Parliament, executive (government) and the judiciary becomes significant to offer an understanding of the possibilities and limitations facing institutions like Parliament in India. The procedural dimensions of the working of any institution remain ins­eparable from the ­larger substantive concerns of demo­cracy. The present juncture of politics, when the confro­ntation between government and ­opposition has become a constant amidst deeper judicialisation of politics, raises certain fundamental questions about the way Parliament has been ­marginalised.

The restoration of the plebiscitary character of democracy, which domin­ated politics through much of the 1970s and 1980s, has tilted the balance in favour of the executive. The marginalisation of Parliament given the numerical composition of the house as well as the fragmentation characterising the opposition parties has considerably weakened the space of opposition in raising concerns, influencing policies, and dem­anding scr­utiny. Thus, the growing unrest and protest over substantive questions of farm legislations in recent times reflect profoundly on the growing wedge bet­ween the procedural working as seen in the passage of legislations and the substantive claims of demo­cracy that are fundamental to the idea of the parliamentary system. Against this background, the current impasse in Parliament amidst the COVID-19 pandemic needs to be examined, while reflecting on the present position of the opposition.