Case for consensus: On delimitation

The monsoon session of Parliament is in its last week without any substantive deliberations or legislative outcomes. There may be several reasons for the stalemate, but at its core are the controversial FCRA amendments and the opacity around the government’s delimitation proposals. Overall, it is as if the government views Parliament as an obstacle to be circumvented rather than a forum for deliberation and consensus-building on national issues. That is the attitude that offers no resolution to any question, while it may create winners and losers on some. But in the absence of good-faith conversations and consensus, what may appear to be a victory for the government or the Opposition at one moment could turn out to be a net loss for parliamentary democracy and the nation. A parliamentary majority is a necessary technicality, but democracy is not limited to that. The effort must always be to expand consensus and reduce conflict across the spectrum of opinion on any given issue. India, being as diverse as it is, naturally has multiple views, not only between the government and the Opposition but also within each side. Unfortunately, expressing and reconciling those opinions is given far less priority than marshalling the numbers to support any given move.