Hamari Sansad Sammelan: Session 1 - Mazboot Sarkar vs Majboor Vipaksh - Shahnawaz Hussain Raghuvansh Prasad Singh

What are the new political scenarios of new India? How much politics and politicians have changed since BJP’s saffron surge swept the nation on May 23. These are some of the pertinent questions that will be discussed today by some eminent leaders at News Nation’s prestigious programme – Hamari Sansad Sammelan. The day will start with Session 1, where BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain and RJD’s Raghuvansh Prasad Singh will discuss the role of government and the Opposition.

On June 17 at the start of 17th Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lauded the role of ‘vibrant Opposition’ in democracy. “An active Opposition, its role important in parliamentary democracy. In Parliament, we should forget 'Paksh', 'Vipaksh' and think about issues with 'nishpaksh spirit', work in larger interest of nation. I hope they will speak actively and participate in House proceedings,” PM Modi had said. He also said that the elected lawmakers should move on from the poll verdict and focus on new work and rise above number game.

In fact, the Prime Minister Modi had assured the Opposition that their every word is "valuable" to the government irrespective of their "numbers", and asked it to actively speak in Parliament.

He had also said that, "The Opposition need not worry about their numbers. Whatever numbers opposition parties may have got from the people, for us their every word is valuable. All their feelings are valuable."

But is the decimated Opposition ready for the task? Should numbers govern the political discourse inside and outside Parliament? It would be interesting to see how BJP’s national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain will talk about the inclusive politics that the Prime Minister has been talking about.

While the BJP-led NDA has 353 members, the saffron party has a majority on its own with 303 members in the 545-member Lok Sabha. The Congress with 52 seats is the second largest party in the house.