Tag: bjp

The Modi Government’s 25 Things-To-Do in 2025

by Derek O'Brien

When Julius Caesar’s Senate fixed January 1 as the ‘first day of the year’, the idea wasn’t only to ‘start afresh’. It was also when those in civil office were to set in motion their responsibilities. In that tradition, coming down from 45 BC, let the existing coalition government headed by Narendra Modi set out to focus and do a lot better with this list: Top 25 Must Get Done In 2025.

1. Control inflation: Retail inflation reached a 14-month high of 6.21% and food inflation reached a 15-month high of 10.87% in October 2024. In 2023, savings by households dipped to a 50-year low.

2. Make the GDP grow: The Reserve Bank of India reduced GDP growth estimates from 7.2% to 6.6% in December 2024. The repo rate was not cut for eleven consecutive terms.

3. Attract foreign investment: 13 thousand crore (1.6 billion USD) worth of foreign direct investment has decreased between 2022-23 and 2023-24.

4. Make the rupee strong: In December 2024, the rupee stayed weak for the third straight session and settled at an all-time low of 85.27 against the US dollar.

5. Generate employment: Youth unemployment rate has been at 10% for the last two years. As per the Economic Survey, half of all individuals are not ready to be employed after graduating from college.

6. Favour the common man: In the last four years, Rs 5.65 lakh crore has been written off for the industrial sector. Agriculture, the largest employer in the country, received the least attention in terms of loan write-offs among all sectors from Scheduled Commercial Banks.

7. Provide food for all: Annually, 17 lakh Indians die from diseases related to insufficient food intake.

8. Ensure equal wages for all: Annual growth rate of real wages over the last decade has been close to zero at the all-India level. Rural real wages for the last five years have declined at 0.4% and agricultural wages have become stagnant at 0.2%. Four out of five people earn less than Rs 515 as of 2021.

9. Ensure dignity of life for farmers: As per the NCRB, 30 farmers commit suicide every day. Since February 2024, 22 farmers have lost their lives and over 160 have been injured while protesting for a legal guarantee for MSP.

10. Enable safety for women: Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita deals with the offence of rape but provides an exception for marital rape, stating that “sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape”.

11. Ensure dignity for the marginalised: Between 2018 and 2020, 443 people died cleaning sewers and septic tanks. Manual scavenging was banned in 2013.

12. Protect the press: Between 2014 and 2019, there were 200 serious attacks on journalists, along with arrests and interrogations. At least 194 journalists were targeted by government agencies, non-state political actors, criminals, and armed opposition groups in 2022 alone.

13. Ensure equitable representation: The representation of women in the 18th Lok Sabha is merely 13.6%. This is even less than the 17th Lok Sabha, which had 14.4% women. Only two out of 24 Parliamentary Standing Committees are chaired by women.

14. Allow legislative scrutiny: Since 2019, over 100 bills have been passed in less than two hours. In the 17th Lok Sabha, nine out of 10 bills introduced in Parliament have been marked by zero or incomplete consultations.

15. Select the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha: The 17th Lok Sabha did not have a Deputy Speaker for its entire five-year term. The office of the Deputy Speaker continues to remain vacant even in the 18th Lok Sabha.

16. Allow criticism: The number of opposition MPs who have been suspended in the last five years has increased 13-fold. As many as 95% cases by the Enforcement Directorate in the last ten years have been filed against those from the Opposition.

17. Respect institutions: The National Commission for Backward Classes, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights do not have a Vice-Chairperson.

18. Support Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes & Other Backward Classes: As of March 2024, one out of 10 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) were not functional. Two out of five Eklavya schools were not functional as of July 2024.

19. Complete timelines: The 2021 Census has still not been conducted. This makes it the first Census to be delayed between 1887 and 2011.

20. Utilise funds better: As much as 80% of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’s total fund was spent on media advocacy, not for interventions on health or education.

21. Release dues owed to states: The government owes Rs 1,500 Crore under MGNREGS and Awas Yojana to West Bengal. The non-payment of the funds has directly affected the livelihood of 59 lakh MGNREGS workers.

22. Care about Manipur: The violence in Manipur has continued for more than a year, causing the displacement of 67,000 people, of which 14,000 are school-going students. The Prime Minister is yet to visit the state.

23. Safeguard minorities and their welfare: The NCRB recorded 378 instances of communal violence in 2021 and 272 such instances in 2022. In 2023, India witnessed 668 documented hate speech incidents against one community alone. One hundred and twenty-eight properties were demolished between April and June 2022, following communal violence and protests.

24. Build secure public infrastructure: There were 244 train accidents between 2017 and 2022. As many as 135 people died when a suspension bridge collapsed in Morbi. Fourty-one workers were trapped for 17 days after the Uttarkashi Tunnel caved in.

25. Enable a safer internet: Frauds relating to “digital arrests” in the first nine months of 2024 amounted to losses worth Rs 1616 crore. The Digital Data Protection Rules have not been notified despite the Act being passed over a year ago.

[This article was also published in NDTV| Thursday, January 2, 2025]

Posted 2nd January 2025 by Derek O'Brien

In Parliament this winter

by Derek O'Brien

You are reading this on the concluding day of the Winter Session of Parliament. Thoughts on the 21-day session.

Five proper nouns dominated: Common nouns like price rise, inflation, federalism, and unemployment were expected to dominate the debates in this session. But instead, only these proper nouns made headlines for all the right/wrong reasons: George Soros, Gautam Adani, and Jawaharlal Nehru.

In the concluding days of the session, it was B R Ambedkar and Home Minister Amit Shah who were trending. This columnist was sitting only a few seats away, on the same row, from where the Home Minister was delivering his speech. Here is what he said (translation): “It has become fashionable, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar… If you had taken God’s name so many times, you would have gone to heaven for seven lives”. The Leader of the Opposition, sitting on this columnist’s right, immediately responded (his intervention was not picked up on the microphone, nor was the camera on Mallikarjun Kharge who said) “Mr Home Minister, by what you just said it seems you have a big problem with Ambedkar. Why?”

Who spoke the most: As of December 18, Rajya Sabha ran for a total of 43 hours. Of this, Bills were discussed for 10 hours. The debate on the Constitution lasted for 17 and a half hours. Of the remaining 15-and-a-half hours, who spoke for four-and-a-half hours, or nearly 30 per cent of the remaining time? It was the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President. Did Jagdeep Dhankar set a new record in Parliament?

Sparkling debut: Six MPs were sworn in earlier this week. Sana Sathish Babu (TDP), Masthan Rao Yadav Beedha (TDP), Ryaga Krishnaiah (BJP), Rekha Sharma (BJP), Sujeet Kumar (BJP), and Ritabrata Banerjee (AITC). Ritabrata even got the opportunity to speak on the Constitution the day after he was sworn in. While his party colleagues took each word of the Preamble as the theme for their speech, he spoke on Rabindranath Tagore and read out four stanzas from Tagore’s ‘Morning Song of India’. The first stanza of that poem was adopted by the Constituent Assembly as our national anthem. Ritabrata’s jugalbandi of Bengali and English gave us goosebumps.

Marathon speeches: During the debate titled ‘Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India’, someone murmured: “Listening to some of the speeches from the Treasury benches, was wondering whether we are discussing 75 years of the Constitution or 49 years of the Emergency!” A few members spoke for over one hour. Messrs Modi, Shah, Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, J P Nadda, and Nirmala Sitharaman. Mallikarjun Kharge was the only Opposition MP to speak for more than an hour.

My favourite speech by a BJP MP: In the government’s previous term, Bhupendra Yadav used to be the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as well as Labour and Employment. Since June 2024, the Labour and Employment portfolio has been given to someone else. Enjoyed listening to him as he referred to a research paper by the University of Chicago that analysed life spans of constitutions around the world. Quoting from the paper, the Minister shared that 50 per cent of Constitutions are likely to be dead by age 80 and only 19 per cent survive until age 50. Seven per cent do not even make it to their second birthday. Intriguing.

Best birthday party: Several parties are hosted by MPs during a session of Parliament. It was Sharad (Uncle) Pawar’s 84th birthday on December 12. His daughter, Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, organised a cosy birthday dinner. The celebration was not only for her father, but also for Pratibha Pawar, her mother, whose birthday was the next day. Among the guests in attendance were Telangana Chief Minister (CM) Revanth Reddy, former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav along with spouse MP Dimple Yadav, former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah, and MPs Jaya Bachchan, Saugata Roy, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Wish more octogenarians had such a positive mindset.

An excerpt from my speech on the Constitution: The Constitution is more than a book in a library. It is a living, breathing document on the streets of India. We are a week away from Christmas. There is a Jewish bakery in Kolkata that makes delicious Christmas cake. All the 300 workers in that Jewish bakery belong to one community. They are all Muslims. And about a week before Christmas, you see long queues outside the bakery. If you go and ask the people standing in those queues, they will tell you their names: “Bhaskar, Reema, Arun”. It does not matter. They are all Indians. Cake for a Christian festival, made by Muslim bakers, and enthusiastically purchased by Hindu buyers. Come, celebrate Christmas in Bengal next week at the Kolkata Christmas Festival. Come again at the end of March to line up on Red Road and watch the Eid prayers. And, mark the date, April 30, 2025. Come to Digha to see the beautiful new Jagannath Temple.

[This article was also published in The Indian Express| Friday, December 20, 2024]

Posted 20th December 2024 by Derek O'Brien

Parliament Session: BJP Don’t Want To Answer Some Hard Questions

by Derek O'Brien

We are into the second week of the Winter Session of Parliament. The first week was washed out. MPs from Opposition parties, like the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party, are demanding ‘issues of national public importance’ be discussed on the floor of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha: price rise, unemployment, the situation in the North East and Manipur, states being deprived of funds by the Union government, and violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, among others. The principal Opposition party, the Congress, wants a discussion on the alleged financial irregularities of the Adani group. Deadlock.  

At the time of writing this article, there is news that the deadlock between the Opposition and the Union government has been broken. Media reports suggest that in exchange for a discussion on the Constitution to be taken up in mid-December (almost two weeks from now), the government and the Opposition will ensure Parliament functions smoothly. I find this ludicrous.    

How can you come to an understanding on December 2, about what will be discussed in mid-December on the floor of Parliament! What will happen in the interim? If an agreement has indeed been reached between the government and the Opposition, why wait for two weeks to implement it? Start the discussion this week itself. The Modi-led NDA coalition is being too clever by half.  

Let me put it straight up. It is the Union government that does not want Parliament to function. But do not take the view of this Opposition MP seriously. Here is what two BJP stalwarts had said about the functioning of Parliament:

“Parliament’s job is to conduct discussions. But many a time, Parliament is used to ignore issues and in such situations, obstruction of Parliament is in the favour of democracy.” – Arun Jaitley, 2011.  

“It is the government’s job to run the Parliament, not that of the opposition.” – Sushma Swaraj, 2012.

Disgraceful Record In Parliament

Even when Parliament functions, what is the track record of Mr Narendra Modi in the last decade. Consider this:

  1.  In the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-14), seven out of 10 Bills were sent to committees for scrutiny, in the 7th LS (2019-24), only two out of 10 Bills were sent for scrutiny.
  2. Nine out of 10 bills introduced in Parliament were marked by zero or incomplete consultations in the 17th LS.
  3. A total of 221 Bills were passed, of which over one-third were hurried through with less than a 60-minute discussion.
  4. No Deputy Leader was elected in Lok Sabha for the entirety of 17th LS. The current Lok Sabha still has no Deputy Leader.
  5. In the last eight years, not a single notice by a member of the Opposition has been accepted for discussion under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha.
  6. The Prime Minister has not answered a single question on the floor of Parliament.

With such a disgraceful track record, it is not surprising that the ruling dispensation is trying to turn Parliament into a deep, dark chamber and choke the Opposition.  

Let us now handle the second issue in the headlines: the demand to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). A JPC only looks good on paper. Its very structure and track record suggests that it is most unlikely to deliver meaningful results, especially when the ruling dispensation enjoys a dominant majority in Parliament.  

Ruling Party Dominates The JPC

The composition of the JPC is determined by the strength of parties in Parliament. With the NDA’s majority in both Houses, any JPC formed today would be dominated by members loyal to the ruling party.

The chairperson, almost certainly a BJP MP, would steer the proceedings. Key decisions, from selecting witnesses to approving reports, would be controlled by the Treasury benches. This compromises the credibility of the entire process and makes the ruling dispensation a judge in their own case.

No Consensus, Only Dissent

JPCs rarely reach consensus on their reports. Opposition members are almost always outvoted by the majority. Any dissenting views are reduced to a footnote in the final report, which rubber-stamps the ruling party’s narrative.

Here are some examples. During the Bofors case, the committee, chaired by B. Shankaranand, was formed in 1987. It held 50 sittings and submitted its report in 1988. The committee concluded that there was no evidence of any violation of Indian law concerning the Bofors payments. However, it faced a boycott from Opposition members.  

For the Harshad Mehta scam in 1992, a committee was constituted following the discovery of irregularities in banking and securities transactions at the State Bank of India. The committee held 96 sittings and submitted its report in which included 273 recommendations. The report failed to address systemic market

issues, leaving room for future financial scandals. Of the 273 recommendations, the government accepted only 87 in its action taken report, presented in July 1994.

In many such instances, including the Ketan Parekh scam in 2001, Opposition members either boycotted or dissented from the final JPC reports because they were biased towards the ruling party.

Recommendations Go Nowhere

Even when JPCs make good recommendations, they are often ignored. The 2001 JPC on the stock market scam suggested stronger regulations, but many of its proposals were diluted or ignored. The 2011 JPC on spectrum allocation saw its findings mired in controversy, with little meaningful reform.

Bread and butter issues need to be discussed this Winter Session of Parliament. Why are the prices of onions, tomatoes, and garlic so high? Why are four out of ten youth unemployed? Why are States who oppose the BJP deliberately penalised? Why is Prime Minister Modi so skittish about visiting Manipur? These are just some of the hard questions the BJP refuses to answer on the floor of Parliament.  

[This article was also published in NDTV| Tuesday, December 3, 2024]

Posted 3rd December 2024 by Derek O'Brien

When Parliament isn’t in session, standing committees are where the action is

by Derek O'Brien

135 down to 55! The average number of days Parliament sits annually has gone down from 135 days in the first Lok Sabha to 55 days in the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24). So what happens during the remaining 300 days? Standing Committees, which consider and report on Demand for Grants, Bills, annual reports, and discuss national basic long-term policy documents of the concerned department/ministries, are where most of the action takes place when Parliament is not in session. Unfortunately, these committees have been undermined by governments not open to deliberation and debate.

After much delay, the 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSC) were recently reconstituted and their chairpersons appointed. Each DRSC consists of 31 members from across parties, 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. In the last few weeks, these committees have started holding their first meetings. (Just to clarify, the intense deliberations on the Waqf Bill are taking place in a Joint Parliamentary Committee — not to be confused with a DRSC.) As we go to press, there are conflicting opinions on whether regulatory bodies like SEBI can come under the scrutiny of the Public Accounts Committee.

Despite all the activity, Standing Committees are not performing as they are mandated to. Take the Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment: It oversees three vital ministries — Minority Affairs, Tribal Affairs, and Social Justice and Empowerment. Yet, in 2023, some MPs attended only one or two of its 16 meetings. Only two out of 24 committees are chaired by women. The Standing Committee on Women Empowerment, an administrative committee to recommend measures to improve the status of women, has not yet been constituted for the 18th Lok Sabha. The Departmentally Related Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports hasn’t had a woman chairperson in the last two decades.

In the 15th Lok Sabha, seven out of 10 bills were sent to committees for scrutiny. Fast forward to the 17th Lok Sabha, and that number dropped to just one out of five. Bills are now wrapped up in an average of only nine sittings, with the three Criminal Law Bills discussed together in just 12 sittings. For committees to be taken seriously, their reports need to be regularly tabled and discussed in Parliament. The Committee on Papers Laid on The Table has repeatedly flagged ongoing delays in tabling reports. In 2018, the Committee on External Affairs had its findings on the Doklam issue stalled for months due to opposition from MPs of the ruling dispensation.

When asked if committee recommendations should be made binding on the government, former Lok Sabha Speaker and legendary Parliamentarian Somnath Chatterjee replied, “No, they should not. But I would like the government to give good reasons for not accepting a recommendation.” Your columnist thinks it is time for an overhaul. Here are five specific suggestions.

One: According to the rules, the government is required to respond to committee recommendations within six months. This should be brought down to 60 days, as practised in the British House of Commons.

Two: MPs serve in committees for just a year, leading to constant reshuffling and lack of expertise. Take a cue from the US Congress’ permanent Standing Committees or Kerala’s Legislative Assembly, with a 30-month tenure. A longer tenure will work better.

Three: A Parliamentary Committee on National Economy should be formed to annually examine the state of the economy. Short-duration discussions should be initiated in both Houses of Parliament to discuss the reports. This should be followed by a response from the Minister. Public borrowing, as it affects future governments, should also be reviewed by this committee.

Four: In a federal democracy, the responsibility of the Parliament while passing Constitution Amendment Bills is immense. Therefore, a Constitution Committee should be established for prior scrutiny to check if these are ultra vires to the Constitution, and strengthen the credibility of constitutional amendments.

Five: Pre-budget scrutiny and proper examination of Demand for Grants (DFGs) must not be sidelined because of elections. Following the constitution of Lok Sabhas in 2014, 2019, and 2024, DFGs were not sent to Standing Committees. The precedent set in the 11th Lok Sabha (1996) should be followed. The Union Budget was presented on July 22. The House adjourned on August 2 and was reconvened on August 26, for committees to review the Demand for Grants.

P.S. Some observers suggest that proceedings of committee meetings should be telecast live on Sansad TV, just as Parliamentary proceedings are. Not a good idea. Why? That is a subject for another column.

[This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, October 25, 2024]

Posted 25th October 2024 by Derek O'Brien

One Nation One Election (ONOE) Is Oh Noe!

by Derek O'Brien

Some people on Twitter say it like no other. “It’s rather amusing that One Nation, One Election abbreviates to ONOE – oh noe!”.

After the Union Cabinet cleared the One Nation One Election (ONOE) proposal, legacy television channels, dutifully, complied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) playbook. Distract from the real issues: unemployment, inflation, anti-federal policies, Manipur, a plummeting rupee, fuel prices not being cut despite a decline in global crude oil prices, and more.

Just Like The Women’s Reservation Bill

This is very similar to when the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed last year. The news stayed on primetime, tucking away the government’s ineffectual handling of the Manipur crisis. These con jobs have a pattern. The Women’s Reservation Bill can only come into effect after the Census and delimitation exercise have been completed. So, the earliest that it can happen is 2034. The ONOE is another ‘Weapon of Mass Distraction’!

As my colleague in Rajya Sabha and eminent jurist P. Chidambaram pointed out, “ONOE would require at least five constitutional amendments”. The High Level Committee (HLC) on ONOE, headed by a former President, recommended 18 amendments to the Constitution and other statutes of Union Territories having Legislative Assemblies. This would require a Constitution Amendment Bill to be passed in Parliament, with a special majority (a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the House present and voting). Daydreaming is a popular hobby.

Under Article 368(2) of the Constitution of India, ratification by not less than half of the states will be required to carry out amendments to Article 324A to facilitate simultaneous elections of Panchayats and Municipalities. Similarly, in order to have a Single Electoral Roll, an amendment to Article 325 is required. To implement this amendment, ratification by not less than half of the States would be required.

Here are six reasons why ONOE is antithetical to federalism:

  • In March 1994, the S.R. Bommai v. Union of India case, a landmark in safeguarding Indian federalism, strengthened the autonomy of states within the Indian polity. Thirty years later, in March 2024, the HLC submitted its report on simultaneous elections. However, the committee’s composition failed to reflect the federal nature of the Constitution, as it did not include a single Chief Minister or representative of states.
  • The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the HLC are, in themselves, conclusive proof of the government’s blatant disregard for federalism. The second ToR tasks the committee with the dubious mandate to “examine and recommend if amendments to the Constitution would require ratification by states”. Any constitutional amendment to implement simultaneous polls would directly impact the tenure of state assemblies and governments. Even the Law Commission in 2018 had suggested that while such amendments might not fall strictly under the proviso to Article 368(2), the government should still seek ratification from at least half of the states as a matter of abundant caution.
  • A study conducted by IDFC Institute showed that there is a 77% possibility of voters voting for the same party at centre and states if simultaneous elections take place. The study analysed voting behaviour for four rounds of Lok Sabha elections (1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014) in states where the assembly elections coincided with the Lok Sabha elections.
  • The BJP government, predictably, seeks to homogenise electoral opinion across all facets of political and personal life. As the 1960s, particularly 1962, demonstrated, simultaneous elections can sway voting behaviour and sideline regional aspirations and state-level issues. In the 1962 General Elections, the party that won at the Union swept the simultaneous State Assembly polls in Madras, Gujarat, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.
  • The Election Commission has struggled with the logistical complexities of conducting multi-phase elections. The 2019 Jharkhand Assembly Elections were held in five phases and the 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections were held in eight phases. Lok Sabha elections across three states were held in seven phases, and even then, it took 11 days just to release the voter turnout data for Phase 1. And you are talking about conducting simultaneous polls!
  • Why were the Maharashtra elections not announced along with elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir? Here’s why. The Maharashtra government announced the Ladki Bahin scheme in the budget this June. The first tranche reached the bank accounts of women in August and second tranche will reach beneficiaries mid-October.

More questions. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, in a detailed letter to the HLC in January 2024, asked how many state assemblies’ terms would need to be curtailed or extended before implementation of ONOE? And once implemented, what would happen if a state assembly or the Lok Sabha is dissolved before its five-year term? So, fresh elections will be held for the remainder of the term. This in itself is contrary to the very idea of ONOE. Oh Noe!

[This article was also published in NDTV | Friday, September 20, 2024]

Posted 20th September 2024 by Derek O'Brien

The Opposition’s new hero is Awadhesh Prasad

by Derek O'Brien

There’s a kind of mystic magic when you find an unlikely hero. How many of us would have predicted, before the start of the T20 World Cup, that Axar Patel would be competing for headline space with the big boys: Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma? Far from the Caribbean beaches, in Lutyens’ Delhi, another unlikely hero has emerged: Awadhesh Prasad.

Even just a fortnight ago, most would ask — Awadhesh who?

In the very short, just concluded inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Awadhesh Prasad was my (unlikely) hero. My first glimpse of him was from the special visitors gallery in the Lok Sabha. I was seated there as the 127 newly-elected MPs from the last three states (in alphabetical order — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal) took their oath, one Member of Parliament at a time.

The ceremony is predictable. The Protem Speaker announces the name of the new MP. Rise in your seat. Walk up to the lectern. Read the oath. Enthusiastically add a slogan (later, slogan gets deleted from the records, because the rules don’t permit it), complete oath. Shake hands or exchange a namaskar with the Presiding Officer. Sign register. Done. Next.

It’s around 4 pm on a drowsy afternoon in Lok Sabha on the second and final day of the taking of oaths. From my perch in the gallery, I do a quick head count. There aren’t more than 150 MPs in the House. And yet, when the Protem Speaker announces, “Awadhesh Prasad, Faizabad”, there is a lusty cheer from the full contingent of Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress MPs present.

The first-time MP stands up. Nice and easy. Unhurried. Adjusts his red cap, which members of the SP usually wear. Waves to fellow MPs. Acknowledges his leader seated next to him. Holds up his copy of the Constitution of India. Soaks in the moment and then struts up to take his oath. Struts? Yes. Here’s the man who won a significant victory in Ayodhya, which is a part of the Faizabad parliamentary constituency.

Cut to the Lok Sabha visitors gallery. Seated next to me is my colleague and SP’s Rajya Sabha Parliamentary party leader, Professor Ram Gopal Yadav. He enthusiastically conducts a quick, private tutorial for me. It goes somewhat like this.

Awadhesh Prasad, SP, won Faizabad. So he actually defeated the BJP by 54,000 votes in Ayodhya. This is big. He is from the Dalit community. His win is even more special as this is a non-reserved constituency. He is 78 years old and a nine-time MLA. He studied Law at Lucknow University and entered politics soon after. He contested his first Assembly election from Sohawal in Ayodhya district in 1974. He is bilingual.

In the next 24 hours, a certain Banerjee political duo start working the phones. As always, laser focussed, they had earlier suggested the four criteria in the search for a Deputy Speaker candidate for the INDIA bloc: a) An out of the box name for powerful messaging; b) A seasoned politician; c) Our choice should rattle the BJP and d) Choose from one of the parties with 20+ MPs.

Text messages, conversations and effective coordination were fully on. Power play. All on board. Awadhesh Prasad will be the candidate for Deputy Speaker.

Article 93 mandates that the Lok Sabha “shall” and “as soon as may be” elect a Deputy Speaker, underlining both the necessity and urgency of this action. For the first time in the history of Independent India, the Constitutional position of the Deputy Speaker was left vacant for five years (2019-2024) in the 17th Lok Sabha. The 16th Lok Sabha’s Deputy Speaker was elected on the 71st day. For the 13th, 14th and 15th Lok Sabhas, the Deputy Speaker was elected on the eighth day.

During the Budget session, the INDIA bloc will certainly up the ante on the issue of installing a Deputy Speaker. Expect the NDA to be on the backfoot and delay that election. In cricketing terms, INDIA timed the ball sweetly on the opening days of Parliament. Visible teamwork. Egos were tucked away in the back pockets of flannels. More unlikely heroes will be found.

Team India. Thank you for showing us how it’s done.

P.S. It must be said, the new captain of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has got off to a good start.

[This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, July 5, 2024]

Posted 5th July 2024 by Derek O'Brien

Here’s An Unlikely Combination: Narendra Modi and Billy Joel

by Derek O'Brien

In the last ten years (2014-2024), Mr Modi has done all it takes to turn Parliament into a deep dark chamber. Early in 2024, after a long gap of 30 years, one of my fave singer-songwriters, the legendary Billy Joel, released a new song titled Turn the Lights Back On.

That’s the verdict after India Elections 2024. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha must not be allowed to be turned into a deep, dark chamber. Turn the Lights Back On.

Let’s get this done.

1. Parliament Calendar

    Introduce a fixed calendar for the three sessions of Parliament with a minimum of 100 days of sittings a year for each House. The number of sittings per year for Lok Sabha has reduced from an average of 121 days (1952-1970) to 70 days per year since 2000. In 2019, your columnist introduced a Private Member’s Bill seeking a fixed calendar for Parliament sessions and a minimum number of sittings of 100 days.

    2. Deputy Speaker In Lok Sabha

      Article 93 of the Constitution says that the Lok Sabha shall choose two members of the House as Speaker and Deputy Speaker as soon as the case may be. The 17th Lok Sabha did not have a Deputy Speaker for its entire five-year term. The Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker. The Speaker has to tender his resignation to the Deputy Speaker if s/he chooses to do so. Traditionally, the Deputy Speaker is appointed from the Opposition. The Deputy Speaker should be appointed in this session itself.

      3. Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy

        Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy was adopted in 2014 to ensure public consultation for all legislation. In the 17th Lok Sabha, nine out of 10 bills introduced in Parliament have been marked by zero or incomplete consultations. Each Minister, while introducing a Bill, should lay a copy of the summary of the consultations.

        4. Scrutiny Of Bills

          In the 14th Lok Sabha, six out of 10 bills were sent to various committees for scrutiny; in the 15th Lok Sabha, it was seven out of 10. This figure fell in the 16th Lok Sabha to four out of 10. In the 17th Lok Sabha, about one out of five bills was sent for scrutiny. Abysmal. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2002) recommended that all bills introduced in Parliament should first be examined by the relevant committee. Committees should also review the implementation of laws passed by Parliament.

          5. Constitution Amendment Bills

            A joint constitutional committee from both Houses should be formed to review the constitutional validity of Constitution Amendment Bills before they are introduced.

            6. Admit 267 Notice In Rajya Sabha

              Rule 267 gives Rajya Sabha MPs an opportunity to give a written notice to suspend regular business and seek an immediate discussion on an issue of national importance. It has been eight years since such a discussion has been permitted. At least one such notice should be admitted in each session.

              7. Active Participation Of PM

                The Prime Minister has not answered a single question on the floor of Parliament. His participation has been limited to monologues – speeches during Motion of Thanks, farewells, and special occasions. Narendra Modi needs to answer questions, take part in debates and discussions on national issues. (The UK Parliament has Prime Minister’s Question Time every Wednesday where it is mandatory for the PM to answer.)

                8. Joint Parliamentary Committee On Security

                  Following the Parliament security breach last year, the Committee on security in Parliament house complex should be reconstituted immediately, with the Deputy Speaker as the Chairperson.

                  9. Committee On National Economy

                    A Parliamentary Committee on National Economy should be formed to produce annual reports on the state of the economy. The report should then be discussed in Parliament. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2002) noted that there is no system for Parliamentary scrutiny of public borrowing. Since it affects future governments, beyond certain limits, borrowing proposals should also be reviewed by the Parliamentary Committee on National Economy.

                    10. Technical Expertise for Committees

                      Funds should be allocated to provide research support staff to committees to conduct public hearings, inquiries, and collect data. Currently, the secretariat assists with scheduling meetings and taking notes. The quality of output will improve if each committee is assigned a team dedicated to research.

                      Please open the door

                      Nothing is different, we’ve been here before

                      Pacing these halls

                      Trying to talk over the silence

                      And pride sticks out its tongue

                      Laughs at the portrait that we’ve become

                      Stuck in a frame, unable to change

                      I was wrong

                      Did I wait too long

                      To turn the lights back on?

                      – Billy Joel, Turn the Lights Back On.

                      [This article was also published in NDTV | Friday, June 28, 2024]

                      Posted 28th June 2024 by Derek O'Brien

                      Bengal Has Lessons For India In Sending More Women To Parliament

                      by Derek O'Brien

                      The 18th Lok Sabha is upon us. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 13% women amongst their MPs. Their alliance partners, the Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), have 17% and 6% women MPs, respectively. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has 14% women MPs, while the Congress has 13%. Of the 12 candidates who were given tickets by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), 11 won. That’s a clear topper, with 38% of women MPs in the Lok Sabha.

                      Women hold 26% of seats in national parliaments around the world. The representation of women in the 18th Lok Sabha is half of this – a measly 13.6%. This is down from the 14.4% of the 17th Lok Sabha. Women comprise nearly half of India’s electorate. Yet, in 150 constituencies, there was not even a single woman on the ballot! India ranks 145 out of 185 countries in terms of women’s representation in the lower house of parliaments.

                      West Bengal’s Women MPs

                      Across the country, the highest number of women candidates who won from a state in the election for the 18th Lok Sabha came from… you guessed it right: West Bengal. You would recall, Narendra Modi began his campaign in West Bengal by addressing rallies in three constituencies – Arambagh, Krishnanagar and Barasat – all three with sitting women MPs. To further heighten the pitch, Modi, the BJP’s lead campaigner, spoke to the two women BJP candidates from these constituencies. In what might be a first, these private telephone calls were then widely amplified in the media. Did any of this work? No. The BJP lost all three seats. Trinamool’s Mitali Bag, a 47-year-old Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) worker, won Arambagh. Barasat and Krishnanagar were convincingly retained by Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Mahua Moitra, respectively.

                      I am looking forward to meeting two young ladies in Parliament – both of them a few years younger than my daughter. Sanjana Jatav of the Congress, the 26-year-old Dalit woman who won from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, and Priya Saroj of the SP, the 25-year-old Dalit who won from Uttar Pradesh. In Gujarat, first-time contender Geniben Nagaji Thakor became the first woman candidate to win the Banaskantha seat in over six decades. Historic mandates.

                      The Women’s Reservation Bill

                      For all their hot air on the Women’s Reservation Bill (Act), the number of female candidates fielded by the BJP who won in 2024 came down by 30%. It’s not only about giving women tickets for the parliamentary elections; it is about placing them in winnable seats.

                      Of the 72 Ministers announced in the newly formed cabinet, only seven are women. Of this, only two have been given key cabinet positions of the 30 available.

                      A day before results were announced for India’s general election this year, a Latin American country scripted history. The two major political coalitions in Mexico – with an electorate of 96 million voters – nominated women candidates for their Presidential elections. Ms Claudia Scheinbaum defeated Ms Xochitl Galvez to become the country’s first woman President. Mexico achieved gender parity in Parliament in 2018, with 49% women in the Chamber of Deputies and 51% in the Senate. Bengal is getting there. The rest of India has a good example to follow.

                      [This article was also published in NDTV | Tuesday, June 18, 2024]

                      Posted 18th June 2024 by Derek O'Brien

                      How digital platforms overtook traditional media to reach the voters this election

                      by Derek O'Brien

                      Six weeks, thousands of registered political parties, 97 crore eligible voters. India’s General Election of 2024 was the biggest in history. It was also a template for a post-truth, post-climate change democracy. With summertime temperatures climbing to 45 degrees and higher, campaigning and running the election machine was extremely challenging for political parties. A stifling media environment with legacy news channels and most newspapers held captive by the ruling establishment and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government added to the uphill task for all Opposition parties.

                      We in the Opposition — struggling to breathe in the limited space India’s Modi-fied democracy allowed us — were not the only ones trying to cope. The hapless Indian voter was also desperately attempting to keep herself informed and aware as she determined her franchise. What were the issues and themes that resonated with her or her fellow citizens? What was the truth behind the battery of data and the information blitz coming her way from the BJP and the government? In a media environment of compromise and negotiable facts, how does one delineate right from wrong? Simply put, how do you get the other point of view?

                      There was a time when this was easy and simple in India. That was also an easier and simpler India. There were honest, no-holds-barred debates and discussions on news television. Newspaper reports were trusted — they were bipartisan, if not neutral. Speeches and manifestoes of all major political parties were laid out threadbare. Today, India has 5,500 daily newspapers and 230 news channels, and yet the independent voice speaks in hushed tones. Encouraged by craven media barons, most publications and virtually every network have turned into brazen cheerleaders.

                      What is this doing to political communication in what is still the world’s largest democracy? It’s putting power in the voter’s hands, literally! The mobile phone has become the most potent election weapon — the ultimate medium of outreach and empowerment. That India has the biggest national YouTube audience — 46 crore people — is, in a sense, an indictment of the country’s formal or “Legacy Media” landscape and its fading credibility. Digital media and independent platforms rewrote the rules of political communication in Indian elections. To take one example, Ravish Kumar, a prominent and gutsy newscaster, was edged out of the NDTV network after it was bought over by a pro-BJP business tycoon. Today, Kumar runs his own YouTube channel. It has one crore subscribers.

                      There are many other former and formal journalists who have followed that route. Perhaps even more exciting — or sobering, for old-style media — is the new breed of citizen journalists. Very often Dhruv Rathee gets lakhs of views in the span of four to five hours; his YouTube feed has two crore subscribers. He’s no trained journalist — just an engineer with a nose for research, a flair for prose and a hard-hitting style that conquers even his home-video skills.

                      Prime Minister Modi himself is not unknown to this format. With two crore subscribers on YouTube, he’s the most followed politician on the platform. But unlike television and 9 out of 10 newspapers, where friends and officials can “manage” the competition, digital media isn’t an opinion monopoly in India. Not yet. The past year has seen the emergence of the “politician journalist”; largely, Members of Parliament from the Opposition who have devised a new strategy to challenge Legacy Media. Rather than send articles that are rarely printed on editorial pages and give interviews that are cut to caricatures — or appear on channels where they would be shouted down and crowded out by biased anchors and other establishment proxies — they have set up their own platforms for direct digital outreach.

                      The tech is rudimentary, it could even mean shooting or recording videos on mobile phones. But the uptake has been fascinating. The disintermediation of political communication, reaching voters directly and bypassing distrusted go-betweens, is exciting. It revolutionised election communication, with virtual engagement taking the place of large public meetings that are not always feasible in the summer heat. Recently Kapil Sibal, an erudite lawyer-parliamentarian and former minister, launched his own YouTube channel. He says he intends an easy conversation that brings him to the “doorsteps of Indian citizens”.

                      This was the big story of the India Election 2024 — a digital insurgency that has upturned the mechanics of political communication. Maybe it’s the future of politics in our unequal world.

                      [This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, June 7, 2024]

                      Posted 7th June 2024 by Derek O'Brien

                      Know Your Alphabet: A Random A-Z List For 2024 Lok Sabha Polls

                      by Derek O'Brien

                      We have crossed the halfway mark for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Here is a random A-Z list. You too can think up and share your own A-Z lists.

                      A. Appointment: In December 2023, a new Act of Parliament revised the composition of the selection committee to appoint Election Commissioners. The Chief Justice of India is no longer a member of the committee. The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha), and a nominated Union Cabinet Minister now make the selection. Effectively, this grants de facto control to the Union government.

                      B. Brij Bhushan Singh. Enough said.

                      C. Constitution: Try and make the time to read and re-read the 85-word Preamble to the Constitution of this great nation.

                      D. Demonetisation: One of a select group of words not even mentioned once by the Prime Minister on the campaign trail. 15 lakh jobs were lost in just three months post-demonetisation.

                      E. Electoral Bonds: The Supreme Court has spoken.

                      F. Female voters: 47 crore female voters are exercising their right to vote in India Elections 2024. Intriguingly, for India’s first elections in 1951-52, 28 lakh women had their names struck from voter rolls. The reason? They refused to disclose their actual names, instead identifying as A’s wife or B’s mother.

                      G. The Opposition’s favourite four-letter word to describe a pliant media.

                      H. Himachal Pradesh: A tehsil in Himachal Pradesh, Chini (now Kinnaur), was the place where the first vote was cast in India’s first elections in October 1951.

                      I. Indelible Ink: Mysore Paints & Varnish Ltd., a company in Karnataka, is the only licenced manufacturer of the indelible ink used to mark voters.

                      J. You can guess the five-letter word in Hindi for ‘an unfulfilled and fake promise’.

                      K. Kejriwal’s Arrest: Arvind Kejriwal became the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested (Hemant Soren too, but after he resigned). Soon after he was released on bail, the Delhi Chief Minister set the cat amongst the pigeons by bringing up the ‘retire at 75 years’ policy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

                      L. Lok Sabha: The eighteenth Lok Sabha to be formed after these elections will be the first where the strength of the House will be 543. The Constitutional (One Hundred and Fourth Amendment) Act, 2019 scrapped the reservation for two members from the Anglo-Indian community to be nominated to the Lok Sabha, reducing the maximum strength of the House from 545.

                      M. Model Code of Conduct (MCC): The MCC originated during the 1960 Kerala State Legislative Assembly elections, when the State Administration for the first time regulated the conduct of political parties for fair elections. After multiple delegations to the Election Commission, Opposition parties now refer to the MCC as the Modi Code of Conduct!

                      N. North Paravur: In 1982, a by-election to this assembly constituency in Kerala witnessed the first use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

                      O. Opting for NOTA: The concept of ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) was introduced in 2014. NOTA polled 1.1% or 60 lakh votes that year.

                      P. PM Sayeed: The Congress leader PM Sayeed was elected to the Lok Sabha for ten consecutive terms, 1967 – 2004. He represented the Lakshadweep constituency since its formation in 1967.

                      Q. Queues: No queues ever in the voting booth in Banej, deep inside the Gir forest. This voting booth in India Elections 2024, was set up for only one person. Reason? The law states no voter should be more than 2 kilometres away from a polling booth. Fascinating piece of trivia.

                      R. Reduction of voting age: The minimum voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 years in 1989 via the 61st Constitutional Amendment. The voting age in Brazil is 16 years.

                      S. Shyam Saran Negi: Independent India’s first voter, he also held the distinction of being India’s oldest voter till 2022. He passed away in November 2022 three days after casting his vote for the 34th time. He was 106.

                      T. Telangana: Malkajgiri in Telangana is the largest constituency in India, with 37.5 lakh voters.

                      U. Uniform Civil Code (UCC): One of the key BJP poll planks. BJP founder, S.P. Mookerjee, criticised the efforts of the Nehru government to introduce monogamy and divorce into Hindu Law. He famously claimed: “This would end up killing the very fountain source of the Hindu religion”.

                      V. Voter turnout: The Election Commission used to publish the final voter turnout within 24 hours of voting. This time, the final percentage (and not absolute numbers) was released many days after the first phase.

                      W. Women’s representation: Parliament has just 14% women members. The global average is 27%. The Women’s Reservation Bill, passed in 2023, can only be implemented after delimitation and the Census. So only lip service before 2034.

                      X. (Formerly Twitter): For all the cynicism and allegations about manipulated algorithms, X remains the go-to platform for political parties and politicians to get their points of view across swiftly.

                      Y. Youth unemployment: Major issue that the ruling dispensation wants to keep away from the headlines. India’s youth account for 80% of the unemployed workforce. The share of youngsters with secondary or higher education in the total unemployed has shot up from 35% in 2000 to 66%.

                      Z. Gen Z: India’s Gen Z, 1.8 crore first-time voters, are below 19 years of age.

                      [This article was also published in NDTV | Friday, May 17, 2024]

                      Posted 17th May 2024 by Derek O'Brien