Why does the Government shy away from the people of India?

Amidst rhetoric praising the recent NSG clearance of the Indo-US Nuclear deal as a landmark victory (whose victory is it, anyway?) , those at the helm of the Government of India show no signs of respect to the voice of the people of this great country as evident from their deliberate decision to shrug off their responsibility to convene the monsoon session of the Parliament! This is against the established tradition since indepdence.

Jettisoning the Parliament session has serious implications. Apart from violating the basic principle of governance, the absence of the Parliament session negates the legislature's right and the executive's obligation. The country's sovereignty rests with the people and the executive is accountable to the legislature which in turn, is accountable to the people. The act of jettisoning the monsoon session of the Parliament is a serious compromise with the concept of sovereignty itself as enshrined in the Constitution, particularly at a time when major decisions are being thrust on the country by external elements with the tacit support of those in power.

The Government of India found itself isolated when certain classified documents related to Indo-US Nuclear deal were published by the United States, because, what was publicised was diametrically against what the representatives of the people were made to believe! Parliament being the available forum for questioning this infidelity, the people of the country are denied this legitimate avenue.

The unprecedented levels of inflation, agrarian crises, the unabated fundamentalist aggression against the lives and property of the innocent people of Orissa, the inexplicable lapses that led to the breach in the embankments of River Kosi that changed its course causing unbearable loss of lives and property due to floods in Bihar and elsewhere, are all issues of national importance to be discussed threadbare in the Parliament. By depriving the people of India of their legitimate right to voice their concern in the Parliament on these important issues, the Government has been indulging in an open challenge to democratic values and norms.

Is the voice of the people of this country subdued by voices from external sources to which the Government appears to be very attentive these days? The people of India have the right to know this.