The opposition parties may, at first glance, seem unreasonable and worse by paralysing parliament for the second consecutive day today with their insistence on an adjournment motion that entails voting to discuss the issue of price rise.

But a closer look would suggest they are probably right in doing so because it serves no purpose to have a sterile debate on a key issue that the government refuses to address.

The issue has been raised in parliament several times in the past one year. At the end of the last full-fledged debate in February this year, the government assured it would do its best to check inflation, especially the food inflation. But for the second year in running, inflation continues to be in double digits, with food inflation hovering around 20 percent. Prices of all essential items continue to go up.

What has the government done to check it? Precious little. In fact, three key policy makers of the government--the prime minister, the finance minister and the deputy chairman of the planning commission--told the nation around this time last year that good monsoon would bring down the inflation. All of them also assured that inflation would be back in single digit by the “end of the year”. This year, the trio have reiterated their position.

If this suggests that the government has no clue or desire, it was proved by the subsequent decisions. Fuel prices were hiked twice this year alone. The opposition cried hoarse, organized country-wide bandhs and lamented that the government should have waited at least for the inflationary trend to subside before hiking oil prices because that would only add to the problem. The government didn't bother and refused to rollback the hikes.

As it turned out, the government was taking the decision to please the G20 countries. It had promised to cut down energy subsidies at the G20 Summit in Pittsburg last year and was merely honouring that in time for the Toronto Summit in June this year. If the aam admi suffers in the process, so be it!

That is why the opposition parties want to “censure” the government by insisting on an adjournment motion with a voting provision. Not a sterile, run-of-the-mill debate in parliament, which is useless in any case.

The second purpose of the poosition is to draw out the government allies who are equally peeved at the government’s policies. The government doesn’t actually fall if the numbers are not on its side, but an adverse voting on an adjournment motion regarding price rise will be a “moral defeat”. So, what’s wrong with that? Let the government face up to the situation and accept the consequences of its policies. It may be ruling by the name of the aam admi, but let this be tested if the parliament, the highest democratic institution, thinks the government's policies are in the interest of the aam admi.

Accountability can't be restricted to once-in-five-years affair. There has to be continuity in accountability. In fact, it isn’t the opposition, it is the government which is paralyzing the democratic process and the parliament by refusing to concede an adjournment motion with a voting provision on such an important issue as price rise.