Both houses of India's parliament adjourned in disarray for the third straight day Thursday, upping the level of drama in an emerging political crisis.
The Indian National Congress-led government of Manmohan Singh had a lengthy list of ambitions for this winter session of parliament, saying it hoped to pass 32 different bills that have been languishing, on everything from banking reform to child abuse. The monsoon session of parliament, in summer, was almost entirely hijacked by the furor over a hunger strike staged by elderly anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare and passed no major legislation.
But the Congress agenda for this session is already in tatters; disruption tactics by opposition parties have scuttled every attempt to have parliament sit so far, and they are refusing pleas and deal-brokering from government to end the theatrics.
The parliamentary crisis comes at a critical time for the country: the rupee is trading at its lowest-ever level, new manufacturing output data shows a much higher than expected slowdown in recent months, and the Indian economy, once seen as largely insulated from global financial woes, is proving not so robust after all. In the past month, some of the most prominent figures in Indian business have spoken out with uncharacteristic bluntness about government paralysis and how it is imperiling the economy.
But this session of parliament isn't shaping up to make things better. There are multiple political theatrics playing out at once. The first two days of disruption were driven by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been demanding an investigation into "black money" – funds held by wealthy Indians in overseas accounts to avoid taxation – and is "boycotting" Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, ostensibly because the party says he knew about the illegal awarding of contracts in the "2G" telecom scam and thus lacks the integrity to continue in his office. The BJP senses that Mr. Chidambaram, a Congress party pillar, is newly vulnerable, and is going after him relentlessly.
Today it appeared that Congress had brokered a truce on that front with the BJP, by agreeing to have a debate on black money. However, other opposition parties stepped in to take over the disruption role: members of parliament from the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh staged a protest for independence of their region, members from Tamil Nadu protested a dam they say must urgently be replaced or flood the region, and two smaller Leftist parties complained about the extreme rise in cost of living.
The last winter session of parliament was also a non-starter, after the opposition used that entire session to demand an investigation into the 2G scam. The trial of key accused in the allegedly rigged auction of 2G spectrum licenses – who include the former Congress telecommunications minister – began two weeks ago.
This session of parliament was already at risk of being hijacked by the corruption issue. Mr. Hazare is demanding that a bill creating a "lokpal", or ombudsperson, be passed by both houses, or else he says he will resume his fast-unto-death and the accompanying roadshow that enthralled the country in August.
These parliamentary disruption tactics are being used by opposition parties in part as a way of demonstrating that they care deeply about a popular issue – and that, by implication, the government does not.
But popular mood seems to be with the frustrated government on this one. The Times of India in an editorial today says the legislature should draft a system of fines to be imposed on parties which willfully keep the houses from functioning. It's a fine idea, but would require the house actually to sit.