The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles : Constitution, Parliament, and the People

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Wednesday, Dec 08, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Constitution, Parliament, and the People

By Somnath Chatterjee

Unless we eliminate the nexus between politics and crime and also between politics and religion, the country is in danger of losing its identity.

THE DECISION to adopt a parliamentary system of government for free India was a well-considered one. Our founding fathers were convinced that given India's pluralism and heterogeneity, only the parliamentary system could hold the country together while providing sufficient space for its diversities to co-exist. The over-riding consideration was to ensure the centrality of our people in the political processes of the country. A plain reading of the Preamble to our Constitution reinforces this centrality.

Over the years, we have found we have not been able to honour many of the commitments made to our people through the Constitution. Aberrations and distortions have taken place in the functioning not only of the state but also of the political and administrative systems. As a result, large sections of the people are unable to enjoy even the minimum rights the Constitution contemplated for them. Problems like poverty, illiteracy, child mortality, lack of job opportunities for young people, non-availability of pure drinking water in many areas, and lack of health care have undermined the importance of freedom for the people.

Everyone who observes India believes it has immense possibilities and potential, but its natural development is not taking place because its political and administrative structures have not been demonstrating the desired level of commitment to the ideas and objectives espoused by our founding fathers and enshrined in our Constitution. Our performance over nearly six decades of freedom still leaves much to be desired.

The country's strength lies in its unity in diversity. Secularism cannot be mere jargon or a paper provision of the Constitution. The mixing of religion with politics has disturbed the even tempo of our national life. Tolerance, which is the basic postulate of all religions (as all sane people understand them), is now being replaced by feelings of animosity affecting the unity of the people. Activities in the name of religion are creating a communal divide among the people. There are well-calculated efforts to emphasise the `differences' between people on the basis of their caste, language, religion, and customs, instead of highlighting the commonality and unity between them.

Politics is fast becoming a game of economic offenders, mafias, religious fanatics, and fundamentalists. The degeneration of the electoral system as a result of illegal and immoral practices used for winning elections has been corroding the true representative and democratic character of our polity.

In the absence of political will, recommendations made by different committees for electoral reform remain unimplemented. Unless we are able to eliminate the nexus between politics and crime and also between politics and religion, the country is in danger of losing its identity.

The unbalanced distribution of powers between the Centre and the States has resulted in an uneven development of the country. In a country like India with myriads of problems, with the unequal development of different States, with areas having specific regional problems not common to the country as a whole, with special urges and aspirations of different groups of people, it is essential that the true spirit of federalism should pervade our constitutional set-up. It is imperative that meaningful and effective autonomy should be given to the States so that they can frame their own policies, raise their own resources, and make their own laws to meet their particular needs according to their capacity.

Ours is a pluralistic society and a true federal structure is necessary to reconcile the urges and aspirations of the people and for the maintenance of national unity and integrity. That can only be achieved if the Centre and the States consider themselves partners in the important task of nation building and providing the wherewithal to the people.

The lack of accountability in governing institutions and individuals is a great bane. The other major deficiency is the lack of transparency in the decision-making processes. An impression has gained ground that criminals with recourse to resources and influence can remain out of the reach of legal processes. There is a question mark also about the proper enforcement of our criminal justice system. It is only through commitment to constitutional objectives that we can bring probity back into the system.

There is no better alternative to parliamentary democracy with adult franchise and a federal set-up. Parliament symbolises the ethos of our country. It mirrors the country as a whole. It embodies and articulates the urges and aspirations of the people. Over the years, Parliament has come to be identified, both in theory and practice, as the pivot of our political system. The responsibility for providing direction, momentum, and institutions for social engineering has been with our Parliament.

The House of the People — the Lok Sabha — is the highest body in our country, the most important people's forum under our constitutional set-up. The voice of the people, their problems, their demands, their urges and aspirations are expected to find articulation in Parliament through its Members. The basis of parliamentary democracy is accountability of the government of the day to the people of the country. Their representatives are elected to Parliament and it is through them that accountability is to be enforced.

It is essential that Members of Parliament should function in a manner that compels the government of the day to discharge its responsibility to the people and govern in a responsible and transparent manner. A vigilant Parliament, like a vigilant Press, provides a safeguard for democracy — preventing it from degenerating into a dictatorship. Ultimately, the justification for all public institutions lies in their ability to respond to the needs of the people and solve their problems.

To be effective, Parliament has to function in a disciplined and organised manner, as a living institution. A huge sum of money is spent on it. Its proper functioning not only ensures due utilisation of funds provided by the people, it makes the functioning result-oriented. Intelligent intervention, even interruptions and humorous repartees, make the functioning of Parliament more interesting. But what has unfortunately been seen in recent years is that there are sometimes attempts to disturb the proceedings of the Houses of Parliament by recourse to lungpower and, in some cases, muscle power. This interferes with the due functioning of Parliament and seriously affects its image. It results in the loss of its credibility and effectiveness as the most important public forum in the country.

The people should have the opportunity to know how their representatives are functioning in Parliament. Here the role of the media is extremely important. Without a vigilant, fearless, and responsible Press seeking to inform the people about deliberations in the House that deal with their issues and problems, the people will remain uninformed. The parliamentary system of governance will be greatly strengthened by more active participation of the people in public affairs — which can be generated adequately through factual reports provided to them.

Stopping the sittings of the House on account of what are perceived to be important issues is totally counter-productive. Unfortunately, a feeling has developed among political parties that interruption of Parliament's proceedings and ultimately its premature adjournment will establish the importance of a subject or issue agitating one or another of the parties. Obstructing Parliament's functioning should be equated with an expression of lack of confidence in the parliamentary system itself — if not as a declaration of war on the people of the country. Unfortunately, almost all the major political parties and even the smaller ones share this belief and attitude.

The elected representatives of the people have a solemn responsibility not merely to their electors but to the nation as a whole. There has been tremendous public criticism of Members of Parliament on account of what is perceived to be their irresponsible behaviour. Such criticism may degenerate into a resolve to change the system itself. This will be disastrous for the country. Thus Members of Parliament and political parties have a great responsibility to the people as a whole to maintain the decorum and decency of the parliamentary institution.

Although elaborate provisions have been made to enforce the accountability of the Government and to voice the people's grievances and problems, in practice the effectiveness of the provisions gets stultified if Members of Parliament do not or cannot provide an active link between the people and the institution by not being sufficiently equipped to discharge their obligation, or because of their parties' policies or programmes.

The composition of the Lok Sabha and other legislatures has become an important and urgent issue. The success of the parliamentary system depends not only on the proper and transparent functioning of political parties based on their programmes and manifestos but also upon effective representation by persons of competence, commitment, and probity.

The near-riotous scenes sometimes witnessed in our legislatures, including the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, bring shame to the great institutions and those who constitute them. They shake the faith of the people in the system itself, a development that has the inherent potential to weaken our democratic set-up. Large sections of the people are greatly worried about the nexus between crime and politics as well as with administration in the country. The nexus between crime and politics has to be ended and essential electoral reforms should include making provision for securing due representation of all sections of the people.

There is a very strong demand to provide for at least one-third reservation for women in Parliament and legislatures. Such reservation is working well in panchayat and zilla boards and should be extended to legislative bodies as well. It will not only enable proper and adequate representation to those who constitute nearly half the country's population. It will greatly accelerate the emancipation of our women and will provide them with the spirit of commitment, self-confidence, and achievement. I hope India's political parties will take the necessary initiative in this matter.

(The author, a 10-term CPI(M) Member of Parliament, barrister-at-law, and trade unionist, is Speaker of the Lok Sabha. This article is based on his Bhim Sen Sachar Memorial Lecture delivered in New Delhi on December 1, 2004.)

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