First, a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker and then a notice for impeaching the Chief Election Commissioner. Two back-to-back initiatives by the parliamentary Opposition need to be seen in the larger context of the health of democracy rather than with mere exasperation at the Opposition.
While incumbents are identified as the guilty, the issue needs to be situated as one that involves citizens’ tru
st in the institutions these incumbents run and the offices they hold. In this sense, both initiatives by the Opposition draw attention to a mo
re serious condition: The inability of institutions to transcend personalities and incumbents; the inability of office-holders to imagine themselves as protector
s of institutional boundaries beyond immediate political considerations; the unwillingness of rulers to establish a working relationship with the Opposition; and consequently, a worrying condition of a trust deficit that will have a long-term effect.
First, a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker and then a notice for impeaching the Chief Election Commissioner. Two back-to-
back initiatives by the parliamentary Opposition need to be seen in the larger context of the health of democracy rather than with mere exasperation at the Opposition.
While incumbents are identified as the guilty, the issue needs to be situated as one that involves citizens’ trust in the institutions these incumbents run and the offices they hold. In this sense, both initiatives by the Opposition draw attention to a more serious condition: The inability of institutions to transcend personalities and incumbents; the inability of office-holders to imagine themselves as protectors of institutional boundaries beyond immediate political considerations; the unwillingness of rulers to establish a working relationship with the Opposition; and consequently, a worrying condition of a trust deficit that will have a long-term effect.
First, a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speake