We can look forward to a more vibrant Odisha Assembly

Whether in power or in Opposition, trust Naveen Patnaik to come up with fresh, new ideas. The decision to form a ‘shadow cabinet’ with government departments allotted to each of the 50 BJD MLAs (excluding himself), a la the prevailing practice in the British parliament, is one such innovative idea. Though it has been tried out in a few other states, including Goa and Maharashtra, it is a first in Odisha.

Cynics would, of course, dismiss the initiative as nothing more than a gimmick. Some would say it’s an exercise aimed at keeping party legislators, who are still in the process of reconciling themselves to the loss of power after 24 years, in good homour and keeping their morale up. The more cynical among them would say it’s meant to give the former ministers among his party MLAs a feel of what it is like to be a ‘minister’, something that they never experienced while in power because of the top-down system of governance the supremo had put in place that had rendered ministers completely irrelevant. (Senior leader Amar Satapathy was spot on when he said had the party thought about it when it was in power, it wouldn’t be sitting in the opposition now!). Others would dub it as an exercise in keeping the horde together and foil possible poaching bid by the BJP by giving them a stake, a sense of belonging in the party.

But this columnist, for one, welcomes the move. There is no reason to condemn and dismiss something even before it has taken shape and we have seen how it works; whether or not it fulfills its stated objective of playing its role as an effective opposition by making the government more accountable. For over two decades, the state Assembly lacked a strong and effective opposition as the BJD under Naveen Patnaik held sway. The steamrolling majority in the Assembly that he had during these years made it easy for him to manipulate the Opposition and ensure that there was hardly any effective opposition in the House. Now that there is a strong opposition after so many years, it certainly deserves a chance to restore the balance of power in the House so crucial to effective functioning of democracy.

Coming as it does on the eve of the budget session of the Assembly beginning on July 22, the move to form a ‘shadow cabinet’ is bound to put the BJP government on notice. With virtually no previous ministerial experience, all ministers in the government, including the Chief Minister (with the exception of Deputy Chief Minister KV Singhdeo), are still coming to terms with their jobs and their responsibilities. An effective opposition, with MLAs keeping tabs on the performance of individual departments, thus has the potential to make the ministers more accountable and keep the government constantly on its toes. Having been in power for so long, BJD MLAs, the ex-ministers among them in particular, know how the government machinery works and hence will be in a much better position to demand accountability from the government than either the BJP or the Congress was during the long BJD rule.   More importantly, it can also make the House a more vibrant place where there is debate and discussion on people’s issues and Bills before they are passed. It is time the majesty of the ‘temple of democracy’, something that had been severely trampled upon during the previous regime, is restored and the House given the respect and importance it deserves.

One can expect that the Assembly will not be treated anymore as a ‘necessary evil’ that had to be endured as the Naveen Patnaik government did for years. The mandatory 60-day-a-year sitting rule fixed for the Assembly during the Biju Patnaik regime in the 90s, which was flouted with impunity and utter disdain right through the 24-year long Naveen rule, will be observed in letter and spirit. Bills will, hopefully, not be rushed through without any discussion on the strength of brute majority and the House not adjourned as soon as the legislative business is over well before the scheduled closure. Ministers will need to come prepared and ruling party legislators with a counter strategy to foil the opposition strategy to put the government on the dock. All this can only be good for strengthening of democracy.

With the battle lines drawn after the formation of the ‘shadow cabinet’, we can certainly look forward to a more vibrant Assembly than we have seen in the last two decades and more.

(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)