The chair of the Leader of the Opposition was occupied by their seniormost MLA Pratapsingh Rane, but till the end of the second day of the session there was no announcement of who was the party’s leader in the House. This lack of a leader, is a stark reminder of all that is wrong in the party.
Congress has five MLAs, four of which are former chief ministers, and it is unable to decide who should lead it in the House, even six days after its MLAs deserted it. In the meantime, of the defecting MLAs who joined the BJP, three of them have been inducted in the State cabinet and have been alloted their departments by the chief minister. Congress in the same period has been unable to decide on a leader. To questions on when a decision will be taken, the MLAs respond that consultations have been completed and that they are awaiting the decision from the high command. From a field of five, how long does it take the party to select a leader?
Such indecision by the principal party in the opposition does not bode well for upholding democratic traditions in the State. An opposition needs a leader, and this leader naturally comes from the party that has the largest number of MLAs among the parties seated on the opposition benches. In Goa, this happens to be the Congress, though its strength in the House of 40 has been reduced to five. The State also needs an opposition leader, and Congress by not appointing one such leader has effectively abdicated its role as the principal opposition party. If it desires to be taken seriously as an opposition, then the party should not delay the announcement any more.
The leader of the opposition has a major role to perform. There are also various committees of the House in which the Leader of the Opposition is a member by virtue of the position held and is also consulted or forms part of the committee when certain appointments are made by the State. The views of the opposition leader on these are taken to be the representative view of the parties that are not in government. The leader of the opposition is effectively a watchdog ensuring that the government works within the provisions of the law and that it keeps the interest of the State and the people uppermost. The importance of the opposition cannot be underestimated, and Congress has no plausible excuse for the delay in appointing a leader.
The people expect the Congress to play the role of the opposition by providing constructive criticism in the House and outside it. The role of the opposition today has taken extreme importance, since the government has an overwhelming majority in the House. This makes it imperative for the leader of the opposition to be a person who will, not just challenge the government but also eloquently represent in the House the views of the people so that the government is reminded that it cannot take its majority as a leverage to have its own way. By delaying to appoint its leader in the House – and hence the leader of the opposition – the Congress has failed the people in its role as an opposition, even if it is for just a day or two.
There is still time to announce the leader of the party in the House before the start of the session on Day 3. Will Congress make it?
