The chants of "Modi, Modi" raised by BJP MPs in the Lok Sabha on the inaugural day of the budget session are not just unprecedented but signal an ugly insubordination of Parliament to an individual personality cult.
The chants also reveal an ignorance of what Parliament symbolises ie. that it is the temple of democracy where all parties and all MPs are equal as they have been elected by citizens of diverging political opinions.
Every member is elected and he/she represents the citizens, puts forth their problems and seeks a solution from the government of the day. Parliament is also a home of the Opposition, it is on the floor of the house where it holds the government to account. But today a domineering government and the Modi personality cult is systematically invisibilizing the Opposition in the blind pursuit of One leader, One party electoral autocracy.
It bodes ill for India when exceptional power and authority is vested in the PM's hands and all cabinet ministers are reduced to being cheerleaders of the Supremo, a situation fraught with grave danger for India as a democracy.
