Trust on Government, distrust on Parliament

— Dr Akhil Ranjan Dutta

JULY 22, 2008, the day UPA government had won the trust vote in Parliament on the issue of the proposed nuclear deal with the US has also proved to be a black day for Indian Parliament. The day has invited the great distrust of the people of India across all regions and sections on Indian Parliament and Parliamentarians. The quality of debate was extremely poor, behaviour of the parliamentarians was absolutely anarchic and disrespect for the chair was something that one can ever approve. The government had won the trust of the Parliament at the cost of people’s trust on the government and the Parliament.Ironically, neither the government nor the opposition addressed the very issue for which the trust motion was moved i.e. whether the Parliament has the trust on the government who has already moved for a strategic partnership with the US through a nuclear deal. Except for a brief reflection on it by the Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the pros and cons of the deal and its possible implications on India’s national interest and also on India’s independent foreign policy were not at all discussed and debated. The speech delivered by Omar Abdullah, which has been rated highest in terms of oratory skill and content by some news channels also did not have anything substantive on the deal. Rahul Gandhi, who started with a few interesting narratives to legitimise the requirement of nuclear energy and thereby the nuclear deal spoke on the cross roads that India stands today and how a courageous move to go ahead with the deal will put India in the centre stage of global economy and nuclear energy. However, the substantive issues pertaining to the emerging concerns and controversies were missing in the whole debate. It was expected that the Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal would reflect on it. However, the acrimonious House failed to accommodate his speech. The speeches by the leader of the opposition i.e. LK Advani who took heavily on the government for its all round failure and the leader of the House i.e. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who preferred to counter all allegations made by L K Advani hardly had reflected on the deal and its implications for India’s national interest and foreign policy. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who with his usual wit made everybody laughs in the House, put a few critical comments on the political juncture that India has been passing through today and the danger posed by communalism. However, he has also refrained from making any critical comment on the deal as he supports the move of the Prime Minister on it. The reply to the debate tabled by the Prime Minister in the House, who was not allowed to present the same, spoke in length on the priorities of the government and also a Story on the achievement of his government. But he not really reply to the concerns and controversies around the Ideal. In an unusual manner he took heavily on L K Advani and reminded him of the personal and political blunders committed by Advani in the past. To be precise, the debate did not have a substantive part either on the deal or on its possible impact on India’s national interest. The debate also failed to exhibit the usual oratory skills of the Indian parliamentarians. Yarana Naidu of TDP behaved like a filmy villain and Dr Salim from the Left made a dramatic presentation with unwarranted body language Guru Das. Dasgupta, otherwise a fire brand did not really have an impact on the House. The only point of consolation for the country was the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who despite having a potential expulsion notice on him from CPI (M) for defying the party direction to resign from his post after his party had withdrawn support to the government exhibited the rare political wisdom and patience by trying at all moments reminding the unruly parliamentarians the great responsibility that they owe to the people of the country.The trust vote was accompanied by all illegal, immoral, unethical and also unparliamentarily practices inside and outside the House. The parliamentarians were converted into horses for trading (Horse trading?) resulting in huge defection from one block to the other. Parliament had also witnessed the rare show of raising bundles of notes by three BJP members who were alleged to have been bribed by Samajwadi Party to abstain from voting. The real story is yet to unfold. Many have pointed their fingers against BJP alleging that it was stage managed by the party itself under desperation.Although not exactly uncommon in the recent history of Indian parliament, however, the behaviour of Indian Parliament on July 22 indicates the growing legitimacy crisis of Indian Parliament and its inability to uphold the people’s cause. It appears that the market logic is entering into the domain of Parliament too. And, ironically, it is the gift of Dr. Manmohan Singh, the architect of economic reforms in India. Under market logic everything in the world including a human being is a commodity that can be sold and bought under demand. Dr Singh must be happy with the fact that his market logic has now reached the highest point of fulfilment of its mission where the parliamentarians can also be bribed for anything and everything. Market also believes in ‘self-centrism’ and it considers social conduct as unwarranted. The anarchy that prevailed in Indian Parliament also reflects the realisation of this logic where parliamentarians across all parties have shown highest degree of intolerance to put one’s own views across.Under the neo-liberal economic reforms steered by Dr. Manmohan Singh in India, the public institutions are considered as burden for Indian economy as it is marked by stagnancy and non-performance. The solution lies in privatisation. The foreign companies may steps if domestic private forces are inadequate and inefficient in this regard. Now, if the ratlonale behind privatisation is really the issue of inefficiency and stagnancy then it is a high time that Indian Parliament needs to be privatised. There is no logic to waste people’s revenue for holding elections-, paying the MPs and MLAs and also the Council of Ministers; maintaining the huge Parliament buildings only to present the nation an extremely unruly and acrimonious behaviour of the parliamentarians having no substantive contents. It is more meaningful to see a college level national debate on issues related to national interest than to listen to arguments and counter arguments between L K Advani and Pranab Mukherjee. It is better to enjoy a game of wrestling than to see the muscles of the parliamentarians. It is useful to read ordinary political commentary given by any young scholar having a sense of Indian politics than to go through the reply tabled by the Prime Minister. All these are sufficient enough to portray the crisis of Indian democracy and Parliament today.However, the important question that needs to be asked is what has made Indian Parliament so impotent? What is the political economy behind? Why and how the old stars who had lesser exposure to so many things compared to the present ones could act with commitment and seriousness? There is definitely no straight forward answer to it. However, there is one important reason behind. The current crisis is the product of the growing ideological and political bankruptcy in Indian politics. This bankruptcy is the product of the neo-liberal market philosophy. As stated, market philosophy converts everybody into commodity and saleable products. Such a political economy is bound to convert Indian Parliament into a big market place. The experience of July 22 has proved it to be so. And this market saved Dr Manmohan Singh, who has been the steering wheel behind converting India’s welfare economics into market economics. But, it happened at the cost of all credibility of Indian Parliament.(The writer is Reader in Peace and Conflict Studies, Department of Political Science, Gauhati University) source: assam tribune

Working of a democracy

— Dr Navanita Medhi
We are now living in the age of democracy. Almost all the countries of the world are expected to establish democracy. But actually what is a democracy? Is it a form of government or a way of life or a way of living? There are various theories which define democracy in various ways. However, the all-accepted meaning of the term ‘democracy’ is that it is the government of the people. So, in a democracy, people must have a voice in the governance of the country. All sections of people must take an active part here. In a democracy, people have various roles to play – as a good citizen, as a sensible electorate, as a responsible social participant, as a constructive critic etc. That means, living in a democracy, one must feel that he or she is participating not only in the political life but also in the social life of the society. Participation in a democratic form of government consequently leads to the inculcation of democratic values in the society. Unless, the society accepts the values of democracy, it can not ensure or succeed. The people should have faith in democracy and make every effort so that it can deliver its best to them.An assumption regarding democracy is that it persists only in a capitalist economy. Capitalist economy believes in limited government where individual is free from state control in economic and social spheres. But in India, capitalism is not the basis of democracy. Accepting a socialist economy, democracy has been established in India. The colonial rule in the country had a great impact on the establishment of democracy after independence. The introduction of western education by the colonial rulers and the leadership of the nationalist movement by some western educated elites had contributed to the growth of inclination towards democracy - belief in the freedom of the people, equality of human beings and justice. Other contributions of the nationalist movement are the values of tolerance and togetherness.India is a country with a diverse population. To keep this diverse population united was a big task for the early leaders in the initial period. Even today, demands and grievances from various quarters have been coming and the secessionist activities are also very active. Yet, the Indian democracy has been moving forward passing through the critical phases at times. Indian politics has experienced changes over the years. It has been accommodating various forces into it and has made them integral parts of the system. It is obvious that in a pluralistic society, the system has to be flexible and yet stable. One party dominant system is no longer available in India although the Congress party is one of the strongest national parties. Various political parties have made their way into Indian politics. Not strictly based on clear ideologies, these parties enter electoral politics on the basis of some social, political or economic issues. Smaller parties working, particularly in various regions of the country are playing important role.Because of the emergence of a number of political parties, it has become difficult for a single political party to secure absolute majority in Indian Parliament. This has been a great challenge for a country for sometime which even led to the instability in the political system. But the political parties in India realised in no time that the hung Parliament is going to be a feature of Indian politics and a coalition government, the only alternative.The Indian electorate has been behaving as mature enough while participating in the political process. They have become conscious about good governance. They are also aware of their share of rights in the democracy. Now-a-days, the Indian electorate prefers only those political parties which articulate and give prominence to the genuine problems of their daily life. So, the political parties have to accommodate smaller issues of particular regions or communities along with the bigger issues of national importance to get going in politics.The emergence of various social movements and social groups is also strengthening democracy in India. Peoples’ movement for the protection of the rights of the local people, interests of the tribal groups, degradation of environment, against exploitation of the weaker sections, etc are gradually strengthening the base of democracy. People in general are getting motivated to make those in power realise what they actually need. Peaceful protest rallies, demonstrations are justified methods of agitation in a democracy. In India, people are now taking these methods to protect and promote their rights and liberties. In midst of the countries which are struggline for the survival of democracy, India has been growing as a formidable example of its own type. This may be because the democratic values are strongly gaining ground in our country.It is true that there are various instances in our society when people are not enjoying equality and their rights are violated even by the authority. On many occasions, they are denied justice. But such happenings are openly criticised and their remedies are also demanded accodingly. Our political leaders are very much aware of the fact that they can not cross the limit put by the laws of the land and are to exercise power with wisdom and sagacity.With the passage of time, popular participation has been increasing in the governance of the country. Particularly people are finding interest in casting their votes at different levels of election. Voting percentage has been rising not only in the rural areas but also in the urban areas. But what is important at this point is that people should vote according to their conscience. They should not be influenced by the vested interests of the political parties. They should be cautious that only better and sincere people get elected and a responsible legislature and an efficient government can be formed. Democracy stands not only for the rights and liberties of the people, but it also requires that people perform their duties properly. It is necessary that people behave rationally and responsibly in the society. Democracy will succeed only when people will help it to succeed. No doubt, India has been proving itself as a vibrant democracy in the world, still it has scope to go further up the ladder. For this, the people should always promote democratic values and remain alert that rule of law prevails. source: assam tribune