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COVER STORY DECEMBER 19, 2025 | The Indian Eye 5

Rather than closure, it deepened echoed the need to prioritize pollu-
ideological trench lines. tion alongside issues like unemploy-
Elections: democracy in dispute ment and public safety.
Yet the pollution debate strug-
f the Vande Mataram debate gled to sustain momentum. Over-
was emotional, the discussion on shadowed by louder confrontations
Ielectoral reforms was incendiary. on nationalism and elections, it high-
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi lighted a recurring pattern in Parlia-
used the floor of Parliament to reit- ment: consensus issues often receive
erate his allegation of “vote chori,” less time and political energy than
accusing the Election Commission polarizing ones.
of colluding with the ruling party to The larger pattern
shape electoral outcomes.
Gandhi’s central charge focused iewed together, the three
on recent changes to the law gov- debates reveal the political
erning the appointment of Election Vdynamics shaping this, Parlia-
Commissioners — specifically the ment. Cultural symbolism energizes
removal of the Chief Justice of India bases but hardens divisions. Elec-
from the selection committee and toral disputes reflect deep mistrust
the granting of immunity to commis- Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi speaks in Lok Sabha during the winter session of the Parliament, and raise existential questions about
sioners for actions taken during their in New Delhi on Friday. (Sansad TV/ANI Video Grab) democratic credibility. Governance
tenure. He argued that these changes challenges like pollution generate
hollowed out institutional indepen- glimpse of cooperation. Rahul Gand- bly, Gandhi explicitly called for an agreement but struggle to command
dence and concentrated power in the hi’s intervention on pollution struck a end to blame games, offering coop- sustained attention.
hands of the executive. markedly different tone. Describing eration from the opposition and sug- The Winter Session has also ex-
Home Minister Amit Shah re- India’s major cities as living under “a gesting expert-driven, city-specific posed Parliament’s diminishing abil-
jected the allegations outright, de- blanket of poisonous air,” he framed action plans. ity to act as a space for resolution.
fending the Special Intensive Re- pollution as a national emergency The government responded Walkouts and adjournments have be-
vision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a rather than a political issue. cautiously but positively. Parliamen- come routine, reducing opportunities
necessary exercise to sanitize voter He warned of long-term dam- tary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju for substantive legislation. Political
lists. He accused the opposition of age to children’s health, rising cases assured the House that the govern- communication increasingly happens
double standards, arguing that Con- of respiratory illness and cancer, and ment was open to discussion and through speeches aimed outside the
gress had directly appointed Election urged Parliament to hold a detailed, solutions under existing parliamen- House — at voters, social media and
Commissioners during its own years solution-oriented discussion. Nota- tary rules. Other opposition MPs television audiences — rather than
in power without consulting the op- through negotiation within it.
position or judiciary. There is also a strategic asymme-
What followed was one of the try at play. The ruling party, buoyed
session’s most heated exchanges. by electoral success, frames debates
Gandhi repeatedly challenged Shah around identity, history and institu-
to debate his press conference alle- tional confidence. The opposition,
gations point by point, while Shah fragmented but vocal, focuses on in-
insisted that Parliament would not stitutional capture, procedural fair-
function on the opposition’s terms. ness and accountability. Both speak
Walkouts, interruptions and sharp past each other.
personal remarks followed, forcing The Winter Session may not be
adjournments. remembered for laws passed or pol-
The confrontation revealed a icies refined. Instead, it will be seen
deeper problem: a growing crisis of as a snapshot of Indian democracy at
trust in democratic institutions. For a moment of intense contestation —
the opposition, electoral integrity loud, adversarial, deeply polarized,
has become the central rallying cry, yet still vibrantly engaged.
framing elections as the last line of The unresolved question is
defense for democracy. For the rul- whether Parliament can move be-
ing party, these allegations are seen yond symbolic warfare toward func-
as an attempt to delegitimize its tional governance. Pollution offers a
electoral dominance and undermine test case: an issue where consensus
institutions when outcomes are un- exists but political will must follow.
favorable. Elections remain the fault line where
Neither side appears willing to trust must somehow be rebuilt. And
concede ground. The result is paral- Vande Mataram reminds us how
ysis — not just of proceedings, but of powerfully history can be mobilized
public confidence. — or weaponized — in contempo-
Pollution: rare consensus, rary politics.
limited space As the session draws to a close,
the message is clear: Parliament is
n contrast to the ideological and Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives for the ongoing Winter Session at Parliament premis- not short of passion or participation.
institutional battles, the debate es, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI Photo/Jitender Gupta) What it lacks, increasingly, is com-
Ion air pollution briefly offered a mon ground.

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