Indian democracy under stress

N V R Swami –

Something went awry somewhere along the political contours in India to trigger a massive disruption of proceedings in Parliament and prompt Indian President Pranab Mukherjee to remind legislators to observe decorum.

Mr Mukherjee did not mince words in his address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day anniversary when he briefly touched, though in an oblique way, on the near washout of the monsoon session ruptured and punctured with unseemly noisy protests.

“The finest inheritance needs constant care for preservation. Our institutions of democracy are under stress. Parliament has been converted into an arena of combat rather than debate,” he said.

Mr Mukherjee was an ace parliamentarian before he moved over to the sprawling Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Mansion) after he was sworn in as the 13^th President of the Republic of India on July 25, 2012.

An encyclopaedia

He is not the typical firebrand politician from Bengal. He is slim, suave and sharp and carries immense weight with knowledge. He is “some sort” of an encyclopaedia, as his friends say. He can recollect any event in his over fifty years of public life, cite legislative rules, norms and provisions and could negotiate any political issue that may have been tied up in knots. He is revered for his political sagacity.

He feels, as he noted in his address, that the correctives of the political parties must come from within.

I covered Indian parliament for ten years before I left India on my foreign postings more than three decades ago. I can visualise the scenarios of a turbulent Parliament.

The monsoon session generally runs for three weeks. The one that just ended was no different.

Resignation call

No sooner Lok Sabha met than it was gridlocked with opposition protests for the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of the Western State of Rajasthan for helping Cricket Administrator Lalit Modi wanted by the Indian authorities over corruption allegations which he denies.

Mr Modi is a former cricket chief of Indian Premier League. He lives in London.

The government said there would be no resignations. The opposition apparently agreed to a debate and discussion in the form of an adjournment motion before the session ended.

Mrs Swaraj denied all charges against her in a war of words with Congress legislators.

Bharatiya Janata Party has clear majority in Lok Sabha (280 seats out of 545 members) but not in Rajya Sabha (Upper House) where it has only 44 seats out of 245 seats.

Both houses can erupt any time mainly during the ‘Zero Hour’ following the hour long question hour. Charges and counter charges were made, egos clashed and tempers ran high with verbal violence.

MPs suspended

But a bit more of the scenario emerged this monsoon session as reports point out.

Twenty-five Congress legislators were suspended for five days by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for raising slogans and carrying placards despite her warning not to do so.

With protests unabated, she ordered a portion of the area (in front of the chair) fenced, a first of its kind, and directed that the Lok Sabha TV crew to beam to the entire nation all visuals, not just the Speaker. The cameras instantly switched on visuals not shown earlier of members protesting near the Speaker’s chair.

Bills held up

The media felt that the ruling BJP party had tripped badly in Parliament with ‘poor political management with a display of little strategic acumen’ and the Congress Party looking resurgent despite only having 44 MPs.

A major bill such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST), labelled as the biggest tax reform after independence, was held in Rajya Sabha.

Puzzled and dismayed, more than 15,000 people representing a wide spectrum of society from professionals, the youth, the middle class society and industrialist icons launched a signature campaign urging lawmakers to allow Parliament to function, debate and legislate.

‘India Inc,’ as Times of India said, had been restless for the past few years and was hoping that the election of the Narendra Modi government would help revive the faltering economy.

CII Lunch

But the series of disruptions since last year and the latest stalemate in Parliament prompted the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to launch the campaign.

CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that the Industry felt that Parliament must do its business “because the impact goes beyond business and affects the people.”

The daily also picked up Infosys chairman Emeritus N R Narayana Murthy for his views.

He said: “All I would like to say at this point is that Mr Modi is working very hard, he is a determined person but we will have to be a bit patient.”

The Deccan Chronicle quoted E Sreedharan, the ‘Metro Man’ of India as saying, “We cannot allow our parliamentarians to hold the nation to ransom” and said that a public interest of litigation (PIL) had been filed by Foundation for Restoration of National Values – an NGO whose founder members include industrialist Ratan Tata and former Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy.

The NGO also sought the Supreme Court to frame guidelines to make Parliament work as mandated by the constitution.

Photo :