Opposition’s role should be one of value addition

It is customary that the Chief Minister and his Cabinet  meet often to take decisions on the issues affecting the state and to respond to emergencies. The unprecedented drought in TN requires an emergency response.  

An alert government will make things easy for students who eagerly wait for the results and admission into professional courses. One of the first three universities in India, Madras University, has remained headless for more than one-and-a- half years, as a result of which there has been no convocation and the academic work is seriously affected. The factional feud in the party has completely destroyed governance in TN.  

In Tamil Nadu politics, when it used to be a ‘wave’ of either the DMK or the AIADMK,  the Opposition was virtually small in number and stature. Usually the major parties get support from smaller parties as alliance partners. But after the elections they become individual parties in the Assembly thereby becoming microscopic.  

In the Tamil Nadu Legislature, after so many years, the Opposition DMK has a good strength.  Somewhere the role of the Opposition is lost in our parliamentary system of government.  The Opposition party and the leader of Opposition (LOP) party,  play a major role in our political system. The LOP’s position is that of a Cabinet minister.  

The Opposition is supposed to play the role of the voice of the voiceless.  All those who oppose the policies and programmes of the ruling party, rally behind the Opposition and it is they who raise their issues inside and outside the Assembly and draw the attention of others to the same.  The Opposition is also known in other countries following the liberal democracies, as an alternative to the ruling government.  

In UK the Opposition creates even a shadow Cabinet, which means every minister’s department is monitored closely and for every Bill that comes up for discussion, constructive criticism and alternatives are provided. The crown consults both the PM and the LOP on important issues. 

When the Opposition removes the government through no confidence motion or at the end of the term, the Opposition becomes a viable alternative for people. Opposition party as the viable alternative to the ruling party is often forgotten. 

The culture of ruling party consulting the LOP when it comes to the state’s interest is almost disappeared in our functioning of the democracy. The Opposition is for making the democracy vibrant and not to be seen as an enemy.