Parliamentary Opposition in the Situation of Conflict and Its Implications for the Working of the Government in Jammu and Kashmir

Parliamentary opposition in the Kashmir valley frequently politicises the role of government by factoring in the contentious issues from the conflict politics. It questions the relevance and the legitimacy of the parties in power by setting the conflict politics as the main agenda before the government. The tactical representation of the conflict by the opposition parties, however, mainly serves to undermine the mainstream politics because of the presumed incapacity of the government to provide immediate solutions. The article aims to highlight that parliamentary political opposition more often than not engages uncritically with the emerging conflict situations without carving its own space for constructive political action. Nevertheless, its popular mandate allows it to be more effective and balanced in facing the conflicting parties and urging them to shun the attitude inimical to the peace and stability in the state. The article also highlights that government needs to accept the existence of hitherto absent parliamentary opposition more willingly and shun the averse attitude to evolve the space for concordant political action. Besides, it should not allow the whole space of political contention to slip into the exclusive domain of the opposition parties which only allows them to put it to the instrumental use against it.