From bench strength to house strength by Puneet Rajhans

Who is losing cool? From bench strength to house strength

Debates on Channels leave much to be desired. It is slow, sluggish, with no incremental efforts to raise the bar. Be it half an hour or one hour, the existential dilemma is no different. Participants look tired and tested entity and the anchor sick enough to take a walk out of the window. A man hooked to a cell taking a walk from an office window in an insurance ad is the closest we can get to that situation. A simple situation built against two individuals, Ramesh and Suresh, dripping themselves in choclate heavy moments in a kirana store could get you more eyeballs six months down the line than an argumentative senseless debate played out in the tv theatres. For the poor anchor, tied with a fixed format, he literally lives and bleeds day in and day out by sticking to this ritual.
Compare this to some real life situations and the eyeballs they could be inviting. The skirmish that played out on the streets of Delhi last week (car hitting the stationary truck)when the woman, in the thick of action, taking the battle right into the enemy's territory. Well there were no enemies or friends here but the ensuing argument had trappings of a plot that could keep you fixated. It's 2.30 in the morning and the traffic movement is as heavy as seen during the day. Here you have a bunch of guys who were through with their performances and now it was the turn of the lady to deliver. And she delivered from the rooftops.(i am not in any way defending the skirmish that broke out or the conduct of the lady; both were reprehensible; the intent is to show how a losing proposition these debates have become in our national conscience with none to bat for them).

From the woman of the street to the man of the moment.
This is Finance Minister's third foray (this year)into a territory where the opposition doesn't mind stepping in at every other moment. THe silver lining being he hadn't rushed to the well of the House. He lost his cool; necessitated by members across party lines taking a potshot at him. The previous day all that came from him were Muted Interventions. Today he was firing all cylinders. "You can't hold the House to ransom. " Well, this line he has belted out in the past with a performance that easily gets registered at the back of your mind. Some years down the line we could well be witness to proceedings in the House where members from treasury benches could rush to the well of the House as the Opposition wasn't prepared to relent. THe assault from the other side could well streamline the yawning gap between the opposition and treasury benches. The bench strength of lower house is 543 and effective strength during the debate yesterday was below 300. Well the members may not be that keen to associate with day to day House proceedings, but the level of interest that such debate generates permeates through different sections.

How about someone who couldn't intervene and yet was heckled by the crowd. With Yuvraj Singh confined to the dressing room, with an odd outing here and there, the interventionist in him has taken a back seat. Three probable reasons come on the table for someone's exclusion: Ailment; consistent bad outings; and the playing 11 belting out strong performances. Coupled with this the baggage of brash and brazen identity is enough to nail you down. The previous day as he shuffled between dressing room and field, he was heckled for a long time.He kept his cool armed with the confidence that he could find his way back to the playing contingent. Now this desire of his is in sharp contrast to the flamboyant image he carried. Probably the date with the dressing room would have mellowed him down. Contrast this with Inzamam ul haq's brazen ways when armed with a bat he stormed the seating venue in Toronto to rain blows on those who were heckling him. If he were asked to take that route now, in all probability he would shy away. The circumstances and sentiments you cruise with are enough to publicise your soft image.
We are faced with A season of auqats (the lady in the traffic skirmish invoked it repeatedly ) to a season of holding someone to ransom. The times have changed and so has the component of interaction. You give it to the house members that they don't come to blows (seen widely in state assemblies). And the souls like Yuuraj win hands down when confronted with unpleasant turn of events they keep it to themselves. The innumerable debates that Parliament sessions see are a delight as it rekindles the hope that issues of the common man get listed and heard lest these very members would find hard to get reelected. The bench strength of lower house is strong enough to see a good number flock to Parliament to watch proceedings - and with doordarshan showing it the numbers haven't dwindled a bit. And the likes of Pranab, Yuvraj would continue to have a winning outing with some misses here and there. As for the Vijay Chowk spectacle, there would be no end to conversations that would be sought with the leaders in action. THis is almost an extension to the house proceedings and why miss on that. THe focus is whether Obama would have a date with Vijay Chowk? Possible if his aircraft gets in with no reports of radar going kaput.