The mandate of a “strong” leader faces a challenge

The just concluded first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party lost its majority, signalled three trends. First, the influence of the Modi-Shah duo in the coalition government has waned – allies Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal (United) have made it clear that they can no longer be taken for granted. Second, a united opposition in Parliament and outside it has acquired the ability to question and effectively challenge every decision of the regime. Third, despite these adversities, the Modi establishment is determined to continue its Hindutva campaign wherever possible.

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The lifting of the ban on government employees joining the RSS was the first attempt to test the mood of allies TDP, JDU and Chirag Paswan's party. The action went smoothly and not a single sound of protest was raised from their side. Emboldened, the regime decided to push through the carefully drafted Waqf Board Bills and Broadcast Bills that were ready even before the elections. However, unexpectedly for the Modi-Shah duo, this has backfired drastically.>

A great deal of effort was made to convince the ministers of the three alliance partners. They were told separately that the Waqf law would provide more transparency and clean up the management of Islamic charitable assets. The secrecy and deception worked and the three allies readily agreed to support the bill. However, the TDP and Chirag Paswan later said the bill must be referred to a parliamentary committee and should not be rushed through. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju then officially announced that he agreed to refer the bill to a committee.

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But the deception continues. The committee, whose composition has now been announced, has not been given a mandate. A poor mandate could limit its scope for action. According to a former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha, the committee should have been referred to a joint select committee, which also includes ministers. Such committees have the power to amend draft legislation.>

The Waqf Bill, which seeks to amend the Islamic Charitable Property Act, has been sharply criticised by Muslim organisations and the opposition. There are fears that the bill, if enacted, would amount to handing over Waqf properties to favoured individuals. Provisions such as including non-Muslims as members of the Waqf Board and giving district collectors the power to decide whether a property is Waqf or not have been met with opposition.

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For Chandrababu Naidu, the support of the Muslim community is crucial. In Andhra Pradesh, the Muslim population is 12-13 percent. Muslim leaders, for their part, have thanked the TDP leader after the bill was sent to the committee.>

The equally or even more draconian draft broadcasting law has been sharply criticised by media organisations and the major social media players. The general complaint is that it amounts to total censorship of the broadcast media. The editors' union has strongly condemned the bill. Critics fear that if passed in its current form, the bill will effectively exclude YouTube broadcasters, restrict web news and curtail individual commentators. Fearing massive public backlash, the government has withdrawn the draft and said it will submit a new version after wider consultations.>

Note the difference. For the last decade, the Modi regime's practice has been to draft surprise legislation and push it through within a few days. This is no longer possible.>

Unlike in the previous Lok Sabha, the opposition was able to successfully dominate parliamentary proceedings. For the first time since 2014, the opposition thwarted the government on every piece of legislation that came up in either House. For the first time, the government found itself on the defensive.

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Debates were more intense, with 27 hours spent on the budget. Notably, the opposition did not disrupt or block proceedings in the Lok Sabha. This prompted Speaker Om Birla to describe the session as the most productive in recent years.>

With strong opposition in Parliament, the government is no longer able to rush through legislation and push through bills as it did five years ago when Jammu and Kashmir's special status was revoked under Article 370. At the end of the 17th Lok Sabha, 146 opposition members were suspended by the Speaker. Home Minister Amit Shah's three new controversial penal bills – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill – were all debated and passed while the majority of opposition MPs remained suspended.>

In the 17th Lok Sabha constituency, only 17 out of 82 bills passed were referred to the standing committees. This despite the Prime Minister boasting of having over 400 seats in the 18th Lok Sabha constituency.>

Can they do that now?

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A subplot was the activism of the Rajya Sabha Chairman. “Why did Jagdeep Dhankhar get angry with the opposition?” was the subject of a discussion on an English TV channel. Yes, that is a relevant question.>

Unlike the Lok Sabha, the face of the Rajya Sabha has not changed after the June 4 election result. The BJP won only 240 seats and lost its majority. Yet we find ourselves in a strange situation where the actions of the leader himself are in the headlines and the subject of media debates. His often angry exchanges are in the spotlight. He has twice had a spat with Jaya Bachchan. “I don't want education,” Dhankhar told the Samajwadi Party MP on August 9. The opposition walked out of the assembly, objecting to Dhankhar's “tone”.>

The previous day, in a rare instance, the Chairman had personally left the House to protest against the opposition's conduct after it demanded a discussion on the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat. But of course, he soon returned.

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The opposition is reportedly preparing a no-confidence motion to remove Dhankar as vice president.>

Separately, Jairam Ramesh has filed four requests for special treatment – two against the Prime Minister and one each against ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Amit Shah. “Let's see what happens,” Ramesh quipped.>

BJP's decline from 303 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha to 240 seats has forced the party to be more considerate of its new allies TDP and JDU. For the first time in a decade, the allies were invited to a general meeting of MPs. Some allies were included in some cabinet committees. Recently, the Prime Minister re-established the state think tank NITI Ayog and invited HD Kumaraswami, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Lalan Singh as special guests.

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But the hate campaign is not letting up. Bulldozers are in use in the BJP-governed states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. In Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, two churches were razed to the ground for breach of the peace. In Delhi itself, the DDA cited violations of the law and had a mosque destroyed on June 21. Before that, the Akhonji Masjid in Mehrauli was destroyed. And the Sunehri Bagh Masjid is threatened with demolition.>

Hindutva mobs destroyed a mosque, madrasas and houses in Vishalgad, Maharashtra, soon after a mob attacked a madrasa in Medak, Telangana. In Uttar Pradesh, an inter-college in Bilhaur, Kanpur, imposed a ban on wearing the hijab inside the college.>

Last month, Uttar Pradesh tightened the anti-conversion law and plans to reinstate the anti-Romeo squad, which was seen as another tool to harass Muslim youth.>

In his Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister made a strong case for a uniform civil code, which he portrayed as “secular” and described the current civil code as “communal.” BJP-led state governments were already pursuing this agenda. After Uttarakhand last year, Gujarat, Assam and Rajasthan have announced their decision to introduce a uniform code. But Modi's speech made it clear that he does not want to leave the issue to state governments alone.>

The speech at the Red Fort also promoted another of Modi's pet projects – one nation, one election. Describing frequent elections as an obstacle to progress, the Prime Minister called on the nation to work towards realising the dream of simultaneous elections to Parliament and all state assemblies. Just a day later, the Election Commission announced the dates for elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, but cited security measures, festivals and rain as reasons for not holding the Maharashtra elections simultaneously.>