An important parliamentary session in India — one that gets its name from the country's monsoon rainfall season — is set to be a total washout. The session, which ends this week, has been disrupted, stalled and otherwise rendered non-functional by parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. They're insisting Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and two state chief ministers who belong to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party resign on charges ranging from minor misdemeanors to serious corruption. Modi and the BJP have flatly refused.
To be fair, in India's federal system, the fate of state chief ministers doesn't lie in Modi's hands. Swaraj is accused of a relatively minor transgression: enabling a fugitive Indian tycoon to obtain travel documents. And the opposition Congress Party can be accused of using only barely legitimate tactics — the speaker of Parliament has suspended 25 Congress legislators for unruly behavior — to block a party that has six times as many seats in India's Lower House from enacting legislation.
Regardless, the reality is this: Modi's government looks unlikely to be able to pass crucial economic legislation — including an amended land acquisition law and a new goods-and-services tax — anytime soon. The delays will have serious repercussions on India's economy.
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