Indians repeatedly proclaim their parliament as the temple of democracy. But as India celebrates its 68th Independence Day they are bent on defiling this temple; not consecrating it. Veteran journalist T.J.S. George’s says, “Before Independence we had great parliamentarians but no parliament. Today we have a grand Parliament House but no parliamentarians”.
Dean E. McHenry, Jr from Claremont Graduate University asks “How can India be considered ‘the world’s largest democracy’ when its parliamentary institutions appear dysfunctional?” A central requisite of democracy is the need for a legislature where thoughtful debate among elected representatives produces public policy but if India’s legislatures do not function properly then India is not a democracy!
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands up on the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi to deliver yet another rousing speech on Independence Day he needs to address this fundamental challenge; his pet obsessions, Make in India, Clean India, Skill India, Digital India and a litany of other platitudes can wait. This is a threat to India and its democracy is in peril; beware, the dysfunctional parliaments in Italy and Spain in the 1930s caused the rise of fascism.
This monsoon session is coming to a close with virtually no legislative work transacted; on the penultimate day the Lok Sabha (Lower House of India’s Parliament) finally debated the Lalit Modi saga but the country is no wiser as to why its Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj decided to keep her own ministry in the dark while extending help to Lalit Modi. She very cleverly turned the attention of the house to past scandals and misdemeanours of the Congress Party and in particular to the Gandhi family. Her rebuttal was feisty but she prevaricated and she will survive the calls for her resignation.
And that was the precise reason why the Congress Party was keen to stall the debate and demand her resignation. With just 44 MPs, that was always going to be a bridge too far and it finally capitulated and agreed to a debate but it remains to be seen if the all- important Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill will get passed. The monsoon session is a wipe out.
The central question to be asked is, why does the Indian Parliament unlike other parliaments resort to this extreme measure of disruption and unruly behaviour? Rushing into the well of the house is simply unheard of anywhere else and even the normally taciturn and aloof Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi was seen inching towards the speaker gesticulating and visibly angry. And the abiding impression of this monsoon session may well be of that arresting picture, her upraised hand and her face contorted with anger; and the cynic would say at last she shows us her real face!
Form of obstruction
Filibustering is not unknown. The US Congress is a regular witness to this tactic and ‘talking a bill to death’ is a standard form of obstruction to prevent a vote on a proposal. This strategy is employed routinely and has come to be accepted as legitimate. But no other parliament believes it has an inherent right to disrupt and bring the entire legislative process to a standstill. In India the parliamentarians genuinely believe it is their birthright to shut down the house.
This is heresy, a sacrilege committed within the precincts of the temple of democracy. And when Arun Jaitely, suave and a lawyer of high repute says, “disruption of parliament is a parliamentary tactic” then India’s democracy does indeed face a threat. Many reasons have been put forward for this fear that India’s shrine to democracy will ultimately get desecrated; this central instrument for change which its founding fathers so fondly nurtured will slowly wither away and imperil India’s tryst with destiny. The slide actually started in 1990s particularly after the media was allowed to cover the proceedings, for parliamentarians now were not addressing their peers but the constituency outside the house.
Dean McHenry hints at much deeper causes. He feels Mahatma Gandhi’s tactics of disrupting imperial rule when India was fighting for its independence is far too imbedded in India’s politicians. Agitational politics has always been at the heart of India’s politics of change; whether societal or legislative.
Indeed McHenry even grudgingly conceeds that however warped or deformed the Indian Parliament may be these unseemly disruptions do bring about positive change. He cites quite a few instances where these tactics have resulted in change which otherwise would not have been possible. The infamous scams during the Congress rule earlier would not have got the nation’s attention without these methods.
Yet India’s Parliament faces a monumental challenge. It needs to be restored to its rightful place in the nation’s life. Modi on his first day as prime minister bowed and kissed the steps at the entrance as he entered Parliament House. Sadly he has not shown much respect to this august house thereafter. He was entirely missing during the recent acrimonious debate. And that was telling. As prime minister it is his prime responsibility to bring back the dignity owed to parliament.
He would do well to recall on India’s 68th Independence Day the nation’s first prime minister’s stirring words on that distant day in the August of 1947. Whatever else may be Nehru’s fault he never took parliament for granted!
Ravi Menon is a Dubai-based writer, working on a series of essays on India and on a public service initiative called India Talks.
