Between The Lines
Shell that lacks content
Even the best of democracies decay in the absence of rulers' touch with the people. The media and the intelligence agencies provide information, not contact. This task is best done by institutions like the parliament and the state legislatures. Voicing the needs and aspirations of their constituents is the task of the elected representatives. The different opinions from different areas make what is known as public opinion.
Unfortunately, this process, which is a sinew of democracy, has been retarded in India for some years. parliament and the state legislatures are not allowed to meet or function by the political parties that are are in the opposition. Even when allowed, the duration of sessions, particularly in states, is not more than four to five days. Out of cussedness or frustration, the parties have come to believe that the stalling of parliament -- the current monsoon session was a washout -- gives them publicity and prominence which they would not otherwise get.
This is unhealthy thinking because if parliament had been working the Manmohan Singh government would have been put on the mat. Hordes of scandals have come to light in the recent past. For example, the Central Bureau of Investigation did not pursue Italian middleman Quattrocchi in the Bofors guns payoff scandal because the government ordered it not to do so when he was apprehended in Argentina. The insensitive government has not explained why. Had parliament been in session, it would have been forced to state the reason.
Again, the import of wheat at five times the price prevailing in India is a scandal which Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar does not elucidate, beyond putting blame on the earlier government for having exported food grains five years ago. Pawar still has not explained why the tender finalised at $265 a ton was cancelled, and subsequently renewed at a whopping $390 per ton. The government has paid Rs 800 crore more to foreign traders for the 13 lakh tons of imported wheat compared to what Indian farmers got by selling to the public procurement agency.
The controversy over Lord Ram's existence is unedifying. The Archaeological Survey of India filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that Ram was a mythological figure, not historical. Subsequently, the government withdrew the affidavit following uproar in the country. The issue arose when the government, wanting to shorten the distance between India and Sri Lanka, decided to demolish the Ram Sethu (Adams Bridge), a natural formation, which came in the way of a new canal. Now, the realignment of the water-course has been ordered. Why was it not done earlier? It is a question of faith. Mahatma Gandhi, when assassinated, uttered: "Hay Ram" while falling down. For those who believe in God, no proof is necessary, and for those who do not, no proof is possible. Religiosity is different from culture. It would have been an interesting debate if the BJP and its allies had allowed parliament to function. The country always runs into the question of what is mythology and what is religion.
The ruling party, too, is unaccommodating when it comes to parliament. Understandably, the government was against the appointment of a joint parliamentary committee to look into the Indo-US nuclear deal because of the inordinate delay it would have caused. The BJP would have been content if it was allowed to participate in the discussion at the joint mechanism which the Congress has constituted to bring round the Left.
Sometimes I wonder whether the political parties stalling parliament and the legislatures are not targeting the system, which demands some discipline and give and take. The parties are wrong in their inference that the more intransigent they look, the more votes they would get. People are sick and tired of MPs not letting parliament function. Session after session and government after government, it is the same scenario of noise and disorder. I witnessed the spectacle for six years while sitting in the house as a Rajya Sabha member. That time the Congress was in the opposition. Some of those who did not allow the proceedings are now ministers at the centre.
Yet this vicious circle has to be broken. Maybe, the Congress, which is the oldest and largest party, should declare publicly that it will never stall parliament, even when it is in the opposition. This may shame the BJP and other parties to follow suit. Mere pious resolutions in parliament shall not do. The ruling Congress will have to take the initiative to find a way out.
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, sad and forlorn, invited some of us to his residence earlier in the week. He had been touched by our dharna at the Jantar Mantar to protest against MPs stalling parliament. He expressed his helplessness and described with regret how the big guns in the opposition nudged their members to go to the well of the house. "How can things improve when not letting parliament function is part of political parties' strategy?" asked Chatterjee.
When suggested that members should not be paid for the days parliament did not function, he said that no political party was ready to accept that. By why hold consultations with the political parties at all when the general rule is: No work, No pay.
I had my emoluments deducted as a Rajya Sabha member. I wrote to the then chairman that I was not entitled to the daily allowance when no business was transacted in the house. He consulted legal experts and came back to me saying that he would deduct my allowance. This was done whenever there was no business conducted. The speaker of the parliament should do likewise. He has my precedent to go by. Incidentally, each day the parliamentary proceedings cost the national exchequer Rs 90 lakh, nearly Rs 2,500 per minute.
The example of Pakistan is before us. The hiatus between the leaders and the people yawned so much that the military took the advantage and stepped in. Iskander Mirza invited General Ayub to take over at Karachi, then the Pakistan capital.
We are lucky in India that democracy has got so entrenched that the follies of the political parties do not matter. True, but the democratic structure has been reduced to a shell. The frequency of polls is there, and the independent Election Commission comes into the picture to hold free and fair elections. Yet, after the polls, the political structure lapses into limbo and lethargy. The depth is lacking and so is the content.
Kuldip Nayar is an eminent Indian columnist.
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