In fact, there has been a dramatic change in the new Lok Sabha, with hardly any time being lost due to interruptions. This is particularly critical in the current session; the government has been forced to crunch the budget session to little over a month so as to ensure passage of the Union Budget ahead of 31 July—when the deadline for the vote-on-account allowing government spending, in the interim period till a new government takes charge, expires.
This is in contrast to the state of affairs last year. In 2008, the Lok Sabha had only two sessions (it usually has three sessions every year), the Budget session and the extended monsoon session from July to December. The Lok Sabha worked for only 46 days in 2008, the lowest ever in a calender year. Since 1952, on average, the Lok Sabha has had 97 sittings per year. However, 2008 was also one of the most politically controversial years with the government coming under scathing attacks from the opposition over issues such as the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, the terror attacks in Mumbai, and job losses on account of the global economic slowdown.
Losing the way: L.K. Advani. Ramesh Pathania / Mint
The opposition Apart from claiming that it is being a constructive opposition, the BJP also says its strategy in the House is part of an effort to groom new leaders.
Sushma Swaraj, deputy leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, said senior party leaders stayed away from the Budget discussions because the party wanted to encourage its new and young MPs to participate in the debates. “We have developed a system, wherein at least one of the three speakers on every issue will be a new MP. It is a conscious decision and does not mean that the seniors will not be speaking. Most of the MPs would be given an opportunity to exhibit their talent by speaking on important subjects,” said Swaraj.
Of the 54 speakers fielded by the party in the Lok Sabha during the Budget debate, around 30 were first-time MPs.
However, BJP leaders privately admit that with both former Union finance ministers from the party—Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha—as well as former Union commerce minister Arun Shourie (a Rajya Sabha member) staying away due to differences, the onus of leading the debate fell on leaders such as Murli Manohar Joshi (Lok Sabha) and Venkaiah Naidu (Rajya Sabha).
Congressmen claim that the differences between BJP leaders were visible in Lok Sabha. “Advani was apparently uncomfortable whenever (finance minister) Pranab Mukherjee and (human resource development minister) Kapil Sibal referred to Joshi during their replies (to the discussions on general Budget and demands for grants on education respectively). It is a known fact that the two are not on good terms,” Chacko said.
To be sure, some analysts say it might be too early to judge the BJP’s performance in the House. However, the predominant view is that the party hasn’t been effective.
“The opposition has been ineffective. Fundamentally, BJP does not find finance and economics a very comfortable topic and with their self-styled experts on the issues staying away, things seem difficult for the party,” said Prafull Goradia, author of The Saffron Book and a former BJP MP. Goradia, however, added that it is still too early to write off the party.