Question

“The general election produces not only a government but also an opposition”. Describe the role of opposition parties in a democratic setup

Answer 1

Approach:

• Discuss how the opposition is the most distinctive characteristic of parliamentary democracy.
• Mention some positive and ne gative aspects of opposition parties in a democratic setup.
• You can conclude with how constructive criticism is crucial to the working of parliamentary democracy

The presence of opposition is the most distinctive characteristic of parliamentary democracy. Highlighting the role of opposition Sir Ivor Jennings say that the general election produces not only a government but also an opposition and if there is no opposition, there is no democracy.

Role of opposition parties in a democratic setup:

• Parliamentary democracy needs an elected opposition. Institutionalised “consent of the governed “ is balanced by institutionalised “dissent of the gove rned”.
• A good opposition can and should expose the mistakes, the shortcomings, the failures, the deviations, the betrayals and the lack of honesty and inte grity of the gove rnment.
• Since power has a tendency to corrupt, if exercised unchecked, and for too long, the opposition parties cater to the need of providing checks and balances to the ruling party by criticising them on their excess, lapses, and acts of omission and commission.
• They are a necessary corrective to any government and can provide alternatives to government policies.
• A healthy and strong opposition is capable of refusing to approve the policies, legislative measures, ill-conceived bills and undue expenditures of the government
• As A L Lowell has rightly noted:” the constant pressure of a recognised opposition is an obstacle to despotism and is against the tyranny not of a despot but also of a fanatical majority”.

The negative role of the opposition:

• The role of the opposition in India has drastically changed lately. We have noticed the opposition become more and more negative, in recent times.
• The opposition, in its attempts to criticize the government, has gone to an extent that they do not realise how they are affecting the society and the people.
• One of the negative aspects of the opposition is the constant targeting of the Prime Minister. The opposition keeps criticizing its own Prime Minister, at national as well as international forums.
• While these opposition members go out for any sort of international meetings, counsels, and conferences, they openly criticise their PM in front of the world. They do not realise that doing this can be adverse to the political stance of such parties and the country.

Conclusion:
The opposition is very important and therefore instead of such negative and disturbing criticisms, the opposition should try to provide constructive criticism. Both a responsible government and responsible opposition are crucial to the working of parliamentary democracy.