Question

Describe the role of opposition in Democracy ​

Answer 1

1. The Success of the democracy depends to a great extend on the constructive role of the opposition parties.

2. In every democracy all the parties cannot get majority seats all the time in the parliament.

3. The parties which do not get majority seats are called opposition parties.

4. The party which gets majority seats in the Lok Sabha next to the ruling party is called the recognised opposition party. The leader of the opposition party enjoys some privileges equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.

5. All the powers mentioned in the constitution are exercised by the ruling party. The opposition party also functions in an effective manner, and their work is no less important than that of the ruling parties.

(Functions of Opposition party)

(1) To check the government from becoming authoritarian and to restrict its powers, the opposition parties keep a watch over them.

(2) The main duty of the opposition party is to criticize the policies of the government.

(3) Outside the legislature the opposition parties attract the attention of the press and report their criticism of the government policy in the news papers.

(4) The opposition parties have the right to check the expenditure of the government also.

(5) During the question hour, the opposition parties criticism the government generally

Answer 2

Role of the Opposition

The Opposition commonly refers to all those parties that do not constitute the government. According to convention, the leader of Opposition is usually from the party in opposition to the government which has the maximum numerical strength. The main function of the Opposition is to scrutinise the operations of the executive and to ensure that it carries out the governance of the country in a fair and judicious manner. It is the duty of the Opposition to make a sound contribution towards the efficient running of the country by being alert to the functioning of the government and to represent the best of interest of the people. A strong Opposition is the sign of a healthy democracy.