Passing the Budget is supposed to be one of the most important functions of Parliament, specifically the Lok Sabha. It deals with the finances of the government of our gigantic country full of 1.3 billion people.

The whole reason why Parliament even exists is so that it can scrutinise and have financial oversight on how our tax money is being spent by the government in power. What happened today is the opposite of that. It takes away oversight or even a semblance of discussion regarding the Budget of our country and reduces our Legislature to a mere rubber stamp.

This is the government in power blatantly telling all citizens, “We’re in power, our party has a majority and we can do whatever we want. You will have no say, through your elected representatives, regarding how we use YOUR money.”

Sure, you might think that the Opposition MPs have been disrupting the house for the past seven days, being horrible people in general and therefore the government had to be forceful to get the Budget passed. But do remember it is also the job of the government to have a dialogue with the Opposition, to come to a compromise with them after hearing their demands so that all of them can collectively clear the country’s Budget. Why? Because if not the government, then WHO WILL?

What we saw today was a handful of individuals ramrodding their way through the parliamentary process and not bothering to listen to the members who are clearly upset.

On the other hand, the Opposition was shameless enough to let all of this happen. They could see that the Budget was being taken up but they continued to scream and shout, blatantly ignoring the bulldozing. They didn’t even try to contribute their views towards the sequence of events. It’s a collective responsibility to clear the Budget and let the house function after all.

All the MPs, screaming or non-screaming, placard holding or non-placard holding, present or absent, are responsible for the murder of Parliament on live television. We should all hang our heads in shame that this is what it has come to, this is what we have become.

Parliament and the people inside are supposed to be a reflection of our country. Looking at this mirror today, I’d say we sure look goshdarn ugly.

End-note: If you want to know the process of how the Budget is supposed to be passed by Parliament every year, watch Consti-tuition!