The first few sittings of the 18th Lok Sabha and the new session of Parliament have indicated things to come in the future. There was a fierce debate in the parliament between the opposition and treasury benches. With opposition numbers increased in comparison to the last Lok Sabha, the first session witnessed feisty exchanges. It looks like things will become very difficult to manage in the days to come. Ahead of the session, it was clear that an evenly poised House, albeit one where the NDA government has a slight majority in the Lok Sabha, would test the floor management skills of the treasury benches. In the previous session, the ruling NDA was accustomed to a position of strength arising from their overwhelming numbers.
The NDA found it very hard to manage the house as in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha the opposition parties created a lot of noise and disrupted the functioning. The Congress in particular under the stewardship of the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi took a very aggressive stand. One of the big messages from the first session was that there was no meeting point for the two sides, nor even the vaguest of attempts by the Opposition to listen to the Prime Minister after their representatives had spoken at length with few interruptions. This is worrying. For the house to run smoothly both opposition and ruling parties will have to find a way out. They need to work together in the best interest of the nation. The onus lies on the ruling NDA to develop a working relationship with the opposition INDIA.