The one fundamental difference between parliamentary proceedings and the goings-on in any university debating society is that the matter up for discussion and debate in the former is to come up with real-world solutions, and not engage merely in qawwali contests of ‘the ayes have it’ kind. The Union home ministry should, indeed, be explaining what it and the state government are doing, providing MPs with facts of the situation, listening to suggestions and making an action plan. As people’s representatives, MPs, whether from the treasury or opposition benches, have a duty to highlight issues and demand proactive engagement from the government. Though the 20-odd opposition parties use every available public forum to express their deep concern about Manipur, their MPs are unable to make the effort to be in the House for a discussion on record.
Individual and collective responsibility forms the cornerstone of governments in parliamentary democracies. Individual ministers are responsible for their ministry’s or department’s mandate, and decisions are taken collectively by the Cabinet. However, it seems getting the PM to the stand is the Opposition’s objective, not discussing Manipur. Protesting for the cameras is all very fine. But fiddling while Manipur burns is dishonourable at a time when the country, the unhappy state included, needs all parliamentarians, not just one, to do their job.
