Write a Critical Essay on the Role of Opposition in India.

Ans. A strong opposition plays an important role in a successful democratic system, but India has been unfortunate that no organized opposition party has been able to function here as in England and America. Without an organized opposition, democracy can be more harmful than dictatorship. In Indian politics, concrete steps could never be taken in the direction of polarizing political parties, but the first effort in this direction was made by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1775-76. He brought all political parties (except Congress) under one banner. As a result of his efforts, the Janata Party was formed in 1977 which took over the reins of power, but this party disintegrated after a short time and divided into many parties. Again in 1983, as a result of the efforts for opposition unity, the National Democratic Alliance was formed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Lok Dal, and the United Front was formed by the Janata Party (S), Socialist Party and Indian National Congress, but it could not become an alternative to Indira Congress. Although they achieved some success in electoral alliances, their distinct role could not be seen in Indian politics. 

In 1984, a new effort was started among opposition parties for unity. The opposition conference started in Kolkata on January 15, 1984, and the effort for unity of opposition parties was successful to some extent. Everyone together agreed to conduct a strong movement against the INC rule under one program. The special feature of the conference was that 8 resolutions were unanimously passed by all. It was a meaningful effort of opposition unity, but the opposition could not confront the INC. It was badly defeated in the 1985 Lok Sabha elections but got success in some states in the Legislative Assembly elections. Again in 1988, opposition parties, especially Janata Dal, Communist Party of India, Marxist Communist Party, Assam Gana Parishad, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telugu Desam, Akali Dal, etc. came together to form the National Front. The National Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party together defeated the INC (I) in the 1989 general elections and came to power under the leadership of V.P. Singh. The Front also achieved tremendous success in the assembly elections, but the National Front government could not stay in power again and missed another chance.

The above analysis shows that the lack of a strong opposition that was evident in Indian democracy in the years after independence is only deepening further, while a democracy without an organized opposition party becomes a mockery. Therefore, Rajagopalachari said that for good governance, the presence of a healthy and influential opposition party against the Congress is essential, but India has always lacked an organized opposition party. Here one party has dominated, due to which other parties are not able to develop properly. The Congress party has still not fulfilled its promises and always acted arbitrarily. Due to the Congress being in power for years, other parties have not had the opportunity to run the government. Its long reign has led to incompetence in administration. Today corruption is rampant everywhere. The Congress is mainly responsible for all this. Even after getting heavy support in the Lok Sabha, Indira's government could not fulfill the promises made to the people during the election. Nehru himself admitted that the Congress party has assumed such a form that as a result, the development of a healthy party system has become impossible.

But not only the Congress party is to blame for this. Opposition parties are also responsible. In the 1967 elections, the Congress did not get as much success in the states as a result of which non-Congress ministries were formed in many states, but the non-Congress leaders turned out to be so foolish that instead of taking full advantage of this golden opportunity, they harmed themselves. Instead of working for the welfare of the people, they tried to fulfill their own interests, so the non-Congress governments could not last long. When the Congress split in 1969, the status of the main opposition party was given to the old Congress and it was hoped that an organized opposition party would be established in India, but this hope of the Indians was also dashed soon when the Communist Party got 25 seats in 1971 and was the second largest party in the Lok Sabha after the Congress. Experiencing the need for an organized and influential opposition party, seven parties came together in 1974 to form a party called the Indian Lok Dal, headed by Charan Singh.

In January 1977, the Congress (O), Jan Sangh, Indian Lok Dal, and Socialist Party came together to form the Janata Party and fought the Lok Sabha election as an alternative to the Congress. Congress for Democracy also fought the election with Janata Party on the election symbol of Janata Party. In this election, the Janata Party got a clear majority and the Congress got only 153 seats thus the rise of the organized opposition party happened with the defeat of the Congress. The Janata government gave the status of a Cabinet Minister to the leader of the opposition party. 

In 1984, the opposition made an effort to play a meaningful role of opposition by coming together and trying to jointly oppose the INC (I) but had to face defeat in the 1984 elections and the opposition was almost wiped out. It could not play the role of a meaningful opposition. Its only aim was to somehow seize power. It wanted to grab power by compromising on basic principles. 

Thus it can be said that opposition parties in India have never played a positive role. They just kept fighting for power. Their one objective was to somehow seize power and remove the INC (I) from power. For this, they kept forming 'grand alliances' among themselves, but when such alliances failed in their objective, these alliances broke up. As a result of such divisions, many politicians either returned to Congress or entered new political parties to brighten their political careers. This clearly shows that these opposition parties fight on principles. They do not fight for public welfare, corruption, inflation, foreign policy, etc., but by sidelining their own principles for their own interests, ally with parties with whom they have no ideological common ground, so today the opposition appears dejected and scattered everywhere, inside and outside Parliament.

Based on the above studies, we can say that the opposition has an important role to play in a democratic system. It can play a constructive role. It should not only think of removing the government but also motivate the ruling party towards work for public welfare through constructive cooperation. It is also the duty of the ruling party to consult them on important issues and seek their cooperation. If there is agreement between the ruling party and the opposition on national issues, the success of democracy will definitely happen. In recent years, the cooperation of opposition parties by the government in India on important issues, discussing with them, and arriving at a decision is a symbol of the success of Indian democracy. Cooperation between all parties on sensitive issues like Punjab and Assam points in a meaningful direction. On these sensitive issues, cooperation between the ruling party and the opposition is an auspicious sign for Indian politics and democracy, but sometimes ignoring national interests for personal interests between the ruling party and opposition parties can be dangerous for Indian democracy. India still lacks a strong opposition. Here parties still pay more attention to personal loyalties rather than principles, this is not a good sign. Today, clashes between individuals lead to divisions of parties and the formation of new parties in the names of individuals which is creating difficulties in building a strong opposition. Today some parties have clear and constructive policies, yet they are unable to play the role of strong and meaningful opposition at the national level and no party has been able to emerge as a potential alternative to the ruling party, but still, the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Front as an alternative to the INC(I) is welcomed in Indian politics and it is hoped that at least these three parties or constituents will prove helpful in making Indian democracy successful. The assassination of INC (I) President Shri Rajiv Gandhi had shaken Indian politics. This assassination is an attack on democracy because the INC (I) party has been hovering over India's politics and has danced around Nehru, Indira, and Rajiv. The question is which ruling party and which strong opposition will work to make Indian democracy successful, but the 1991 general election gave the answer to this. The Indian public had handed over power to the INC(I) and under the leadership of Shri Narasimha Rao, the INC(I) government was formed at the center and the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as a strong opposition. The coming time will tell to what extent these parties are able to play the role of a ruling party and a constructive opposition, on which the future of Indian democracy will depend.