Qualifications of Opposition Unity

A ruling in a defamation case that led to the disqualification of the Congress member of Parliament from Wayanad, and the alacrity with which the Lok Sabha secretariat moved with the disqualification process, show the authori­tarian intent of the ruling regime in targeting the leaders of the opposition. That such targeting is selective and convenient is evident not only from the instances of inaction in cases involving legislators of the ruling party and their allies, but also from several instances of prominent opposition leaders being targeted through government agencies. As its utter
ineptness and even unwillingness in addressing the concerns of the lives and livelihoods of the vast masses of people are being laid bare and its patronage to certain big businesses is being questioned more vocally, the ruling regime is increasingly resorting to skew the political pitch by seeking to weaken the opposition by using the instruments of the state. Under­lying these excesses is the regime’s apprehension that the broadest unity of opposition forces could pose a formidable challenge and might very well prevent the current ruling dispensation from achieving an electoral majority in the upcoming general elections.

Against this backdrop, the opposition parties’ condemnation of disqualification appears to be moving towards a co­ordinated course of action aimed at forging a unity. Political parties which stood at a distance or have been in opposition to the Congress have expressed their solidarity, which is expected to move towards ironing out their internal contradictions by devising a common minimum agenda of safeguarding democratic institutions and constitutional procedures. Excesses of the ruling regime thrust upon the opposition have made it a necessity for them to work together for safeguarding Indian democracy. Does oppositional solidarity occasioned by the action of disqualification amount to the recognition or acceptance of the Congress as a leading or pivotal force of the united opposition? Or is it in fact a message to the Congress to shed the notion of its pre-eminence and walk an extra mile towards opposition unity?