All MPs, not just one, need to talk Manipur

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Opposition that accuses the Narendra Modi government of 'over-centralisation' now wants 'one man' alone, the prime minister, to speak on the violence in Manipur, or else… Three days into the monsoon session, Parliament continues to be in 'or else' mode: dysfunction. GoI has agreed to a discussion on Manipur in both Houses, with the home minister replying. But the Opposition is still seeing 'government' as 'PM' and 'PM' as 'government'.

The very notion of collective responsibility of government seems to elude the Opposition. What is their agenda? To target the prime minister? Or to find a way to douse the Manipur fire? The one fundamental difference between parliamentary proceedings and the goings-on in any university debating society is that the matter up for discussion and debate in the former is to come up with real-world solutions, and not engage merely in qawwali contests of 'the ayes have it' kind. The Union home ministry should, indeed, be explaining what it and the state government are doing, providing MPs with facts of the situation, listening to suggestions and making an action plan.

As people's representatives, MPs, whether from the treasury or opposition benches, have a duty to highlight issues and demand proactive engagement from the government. Though the 20-odd opposition parties use every available public forum to express their deep concern about Manipur, their MPs are unable to make the effort to be in the House for a discussion on record. Individual and collective responsibility forms the cornerstone of governments in parliamentary democracies.