Tag: democracy

The entire Monsoon Session of Parliament washed out by Union govt

by Derek O'Brien

When Parliament doesn’t function, who benefits? Govt in power. Govt accountable to Parliament;
Parliament accountable to people;
When Parliament is dysfunctional, govt accountable to no one

Question: When Parliament does not function or is disrupted, who is the biggest beneficiary?

Answer: The government in power.

The logic is straightforward. One, the government is accountable to Parliament; two, Parliament is accountable to the people; three, when Parliament is dysfunctional, the government is not accountable to anyone!

The total time scheduled for the upcoming session of Parliament is 190 hours. Here is how this time is divided between the government and the Opposition. About half the questions for Question Hour and half the number of notices for Zero Hour are filed by Opposition MPs. This adds up to 31 hours for members of the Opposition to raise questions and matters of public importance. In comparison, the Union government gets 135 hours out of the total 190 for government business and other issues — a whopping 70 per cent of the total time.

There is a legitimate need to cut down on the hours available to the government. Allot some more time to the Opposition. Four hours must be reserved each week, in each House, to allow discussions on matters of urgent public importance. Additionally, two hours should also be reserved for a Calling Attention motion (here the MP brings a matter of urgent public importance to the relevant Minister’s notice who is mandated to reply). This will give the Opposition an added six hours each week in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to raise important issues of national public importance. This would mean about 117 hours for government business and 49 hours for the Opposition. A much fairer system.

In recent years, several critical legislative decisions have been made without adequately hearing out the Opposition. For instance, the farm Bills initially came as an ordinance, and were not sent to the department-related parliamentary standing committees or the select committee of the Rajya Sabha for scrutiny, as the Opposition requested. Passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha, Opposition demands for a vote were ignored. Ultimately, these laws had to be repealed.

Notably, in the 17th Lok Sabha, a total of 221 Bills were passed. More than one-third were hurried through with less than a 60-minute discussion. Only one out of six Bills was scrutinised by Committees. Even the ones that made it to the committees were handled casually. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,

which proposes a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system with 356 amendments, along with the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill were all discussed in merely 13 sittings. In comparison, the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2006, with its 41 amendments, was scrutinised by the Home Affairs Committee over 11 sittings.

Another recent issue that saw minimal participation from the Opposition was the “discussion” on the Parliament security breach. In 2001, when Parliament was attacked, both houses of Parliament engaged in a comprehensive discussion involving the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. This inclusive dialogue demonstrated a commitment to addressing security concerns collaboratively and transparently. However, in stark contrast, in 2023, when Parliament security was breached, 146 Opposition MPs were suspended for demanding a discussion on the subject.

The Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill 2023 was debated by only two and six members and passed in approximately 21 and 30 minutes in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively. Similarly, the Telecommunications Bill saw participation from merely four and eight members and was passed in one hour four minutes and within an hour in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively. Many other Bills have met the same fate: The Jan Vishwas Bill, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Bill etc.

Between September 2020 and August 2021, 113 notices were filed by MPs in the Lok Sabha for Short Duration Discussion. Only two were accepted. Not allowing notices for a debate on matters of urgent public importance is the most lethal device to muzzle the voice of the Opposition in Parliament. The presiding officers, in their wisdom, would do well to address this.

The re-allotment of time in Parliament between the government and the Opposition needs to be seriously looked at. This is not merely a procedural adjustment, but a fundamental necessity to uphold the principles of accountability and representative democracy.

[This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, July 19, 2024]

Posted 19th July 2024 by Derek O'Brien

Election Commission: Four Questions To Ask India’s ‘Neutral’ Umpire

by Derek O'Brien

Phase 1 done. Six more to go. Over the next few weeks, few institutions across the universe will be under more public scrutiny than the Election Commission of India (ECI). In performing its solemn national duty, which is to ensure free and fair elections, not only must the ECI be fair, but they must be ‘seen’ to be fair in all they do.

Since 1950, the ECI has earned itself a reputation of being an umpire whose task is to ensure a level playing field. The phrase ‘neutral umpire’ is superfluous, because an umpire, by definition, is meant to be neutral. Independent, non-partisan, effective, fair, efficient, are adjectives that must fit snugly into the pockets of the black and white coats of the neutral umpire. But do they?

1. Has The Appointment Process Eroded Credibility?

    In Anoop Baranwal vs Union of India (2023), a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously held that the selection of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioner would be done by a three-member Committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India. The ruling stated that the architects of our Constitution “did not intend the executive exclusively calling the shots in the matter of appointments”. The court also referred to what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said in the Constitutional Assembly debates, “the election machinery should be outside the control of the executive government”.

    The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, states that the President will appoint the CEC and ECs on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of

    1. Prime Minister as Chairperson,
    2. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha as member,
    3. Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

    In effect, this now gives the Union government de facto power to appoint the CEC and ECs.

    A former CEC called this act “dilution of the authority” since these changes attempt to equate the Election Commissioners with civil servants, and the “political class cannot be disciplined by civil servants”. “Judges are given an independent stature under the Constitution because they have to decide cases that involve the government, the Prime Minister and Ministers. That kind of independence is needed for the Election Commission too. This is sending the wrong message about the independent character of the EC,” said this former CEC.

    2. Has The Model Code Of Conduct Been Violated?

      Since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force for the 2024 elections, even before the first vote was cast, 300 complaints by various political parties and 268,080 citizen-reported violations were filed with the ECI. The complaints ranged from alleged misuse of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in West Bengal to conspire against the BJP’s political opponents, “undue influence” through announcement of monetary benefits schemes, to multiple complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking votes on religious grounds. The ECI responded to these complaints with a sweeping: “broadly satisfied with the compliance of the code by political parties and that campaign by various parties and candidates has remained largely clutter-free”.

      3. Morbi Bridge Tragedy Leaves Unanswered Questions

        In October 2022, the ECI announced the assembly elections for Himachal Pradesh. Inexplicably, the announcement for the Gujarat assembly elections was held up by a month. The reason given was that “the gap between the tenure of two assemblies is 40 days”. The Opposition was quick to point out that in the case of the Goa and the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the gap was 60 days, but the elections were still clubbed together.

        Critics accused the ECI of batting for the BJP. The delayed announcement gave the party’s star batsman some extra time (in the slog overs) to inaugurate projects in Gujarat. The Morbi bridge tragedy, in the home state of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, happened during this period. Was the ECI equally culpable for the Morbi tragedy by not notifying elections in order to allow the ruling party to hurriedly inaugurate projects before the MCC set in?

        4. Major Change To Rules Of The Game

          Let me share a specific example. In 2019, the ECI tweaked a rule related to polling agents. The rule specified that one had to be a voter of that booth or an adjoining booth to be appointed a polling agent by a political party. What was the change made? The scope was broadened so a polling agent could now be appointed if s/he was a resident of any booth within the entire assembly segment. Political observers have opined that this could have been done to help the BJP in states where it has a comparatively weak organisational setup.

          Postscript – City: Chandigarh. Voters: 35. Post: Mayor. Political parties asked for Decision Review System (DRS) like in cricket and the Supreme Court had to be the Third Umpire and overturn the decision.

          [This article was also published in NDTV | Saturday, April 20, 2024]

          Posted 20th April 2024 by Derek O'Brien

          Let Young MPs Light Up Parliament Which Has Become a “Deep, Dark Chamber”

          by Derek O'Brien

          Very happy with the news that Swati Maliwal, the young firebrand chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), has been nominated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a candidate for election to Rajya Sabha. Maliwal (39), when elected, will be part of a small group of young MPs in Rajya Sabha who are in their 30s and early 40s.

          This includes Jebi Mather from the Congress, AAP’s Raghav Chadha (35), and three of my colleagues from the Trinamool Congress.

          One is Saket Gokhale (36), among India’s foremost RTI activists, who has also faced incarceration for his activism. There’s Prakash Chik Baraik (42) a popular and rising tribal leader from the Alipurduars who comes from a humble background of tea estate workers. More young blood. Meet Samirul Islam (36) an alumnus of IIT Delhi who spent a short while overseas and then gave it all up to come back to India and work at the grassroots for the welfare of the socially challenged, especially migrant workers.

          Then there’s the plucky Jebi Mather of the Congress from Kerala who is an advocate, a former Municipal Councillor and, astonishingly, the first woman Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala in the last 42 years.

          These young colleagues of mine have entered Rajya Sabha with a great amount of hope and with the determination to excel in their responsibilities as parliamentarians. Whenever I chat with them, I am glad to see their enthusiasm and their faith in parliamentary procedure.

          Let these young people do all it takes to light up an institution that is being turned into a deep, dark chamber.

          No place for disagreements

          In 1987, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha emphasised, “Every member is entitled to express his opinion. Merely because you disagree, you cannot shut him down. Then, there will be no parliament.”

          Between 2019-2023, MPs faced suspension on multiple occasions, marking a 13-fold increase from the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-2014). Compare that to MPs from the ruling dispensation. Despite allegations of sexual harassment, use of toxic communal slurs on the floor of the House, and enabling a security breach in parliament, no action has been taken against any of them. No BJP MP has faced suspension in the last 10 years.

          Quality of Committees

          Parliamentary committees play a vital role by taking up crucial policy matters for discussion, inviting participation from stakeholders and domain experts. Consider this. The Home Affairs Committee while analysing the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Bill, 2006, which had 41 amendments, sat for 11 sittings. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, one of the three Bills overhauling the entire criminal justice system, with 356 amendments (almost nine times that of the CrPC Bill) was discussed in just 13 sittings.

          Bulldozing Legislation

          Former leader of Rajya Sabha, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, stressed in the Constituent Assembly that the purpose of a second chamber is to conduct dignified debates, delaying impulsive and hasty legislation. Significant Bills like the 1977 Banking Service Commission Repeal Bill and the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Bill were passed in Lok Sabha but rejected by Rajya Sabha.

          In the last winter session, 47% of Opposition MPs were suspended for demanding a discussion and statement from the Home Minister on the parliament security breach. As a result, the discussion on the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill saw participation by just six members and was passed in 30 minutes. The Telecommunications Bill saw only eight members taking part in the discussion and was passed in an hour. The three critical Criminal Law Bills were passed in five hours, with the Home Minister himself speaking for an hour. Since 2019, over 100 Bills have been passed in less than two hours.

          Stealth and Secrecy

          Rule 69 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) states that a Bill should be circulated to MPs two days before it is taken up for consideration. Though the Chairman has discretionary power, this was a long established practice that had become convention.

          Today, secrecy reigns supreme. Take the case of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, which stripped J&K of its statehood. The Supplementary List of Business reached the members at 11:18 am, while the Bill was introduced at 11:07 am. It was discussed and passed on the very same day.

          Not House of Elders, but Council of States

          The Council of States, unlike the House of Lords in the UK, was designed to genuinely deliberate and represent states and their interests. A notable instance of this occurred in 1989 when Rajya Sabha rejected the Nagarpalika Bill passed by the Rajiv Gandhi government. The Opposition in Rajya Sabha perceived it as a threat to the federal structure of the country.

          Post 2014, there has been a paradigm shift. The Opposition has been systematically targeted, from muting microphones and blacking out live feed, to outright suspension. The principles of federalism have been trampled upon. Bills aimed at weakening state governments such as the J&K Reorganisation Bill, 2023 and the Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 were passed in less than half a day.

          In March 2016, the Prime Minister had stated in the Rajya Sabha, “This is the Upper House. Whatever happens in this House, its impact is felt on Lok Sabha, Assemblies and Municipal Corporations. So we should think how to create an atmosphere by which democracy can be strengthened.”

          [This article was also published in NDTV | Friday, January 12, 2024]

          Posted 12th January 2024 by Derek O'Brien

          How BJP has made a mockery of democracy

          by Derek O'Brien

          The first three days of the new year witnessed a massive strike by truck drivers across northern and western India. Petrol pumps started running out of fuel, there was panic buying, and prices of vegetables and milk skyrocketed. The truckers and their owners were protesting one of the provisions in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (one of the three new criminal Acts bulldozed recently in Parliament). The Union Home Secretary finally pulled the hand-brake on the provision in the bill that called for stringent penalties in hit-and-run cases.

          Cowboy legislation

          This is symptomatic of a larger malaise. Legislate first, discuss later. Your columnist has often called this “Cowboy Legislation”.

          The disaster that was demonetisation. A nation locked down for Covid with just four hours notice. Three farm laws irresponsibly passed and then forced to be withdrawn because of a powerful movement. Or, take 2017, when GST was hastily implemented ignoring warnings. Thereafter, 129 amendments and 741 notifications related to GST have had to be issued in five years. The Data Protection Act of 2023 was passed after only 52 minutes and 67 minutes of debate with only nine and seven MPs taking part in the discussion in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively. The latest example of Modi and Shah’s “cowboy legislation” is the three criminal law bills which mocked Parliamentary democracy.

          All this recklessness impacts, more than anyone else, the marginalised. Consider this: After five years in prison, 121 tribals accused in the 2017 Burkapal Naxal attack were acquitted by the NIA court citing lack of evidence. They were able to attend court only twice during the trial, in spite of the mandatory in-person appearance. As per the Prison Statistics of India Report 2021, 77 per cent of the total prison population are undertrials. Three out of five undertrial prisoners lodged across Indian prisons are from the Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities.

          This serves as a stark reminder of the systemic flaws within India’s criminal justice framework which predate any proposed amendments. Two of my learned colleagues in the Home Affairs standing committee which examined the criminal law bills for almost three months, P Chidambaram (INC), N R Elango (DMK), along with your columnist, submitted comprehensive dissent notes. The notes red-flagged against the implementation of more stringent laws that could exacerbate the current injustices.

          Lack of diversity

          The first draft of the three criminal law bills was made by the Ranbir Singh Committee. The committee was composed entirely of men from similar social, professional, and economic backgrounds and experience. It lacked representation from various marginalised groups, including women, Dalits, religious minorities, Adivasis, LGBTQs, and persons with disabilities. The absence of diverse perspectives was a significant concern, particularly when addressing matters of such magnitude and societal impact.

          Disregard for procedure and skewed stakeholder consultation

          The ruling dispensation has a brute majority in the Home Affairs standing committee. Little wonder, dissent notes from Opposition MPs notwithstanding, it was nothing but a parliamentary rubber-stamping committee. Those consulted were from an extremely limited and mostly homogeneous group of stakeholders. Accomplished legal superstars like Justice U U Lalit, Madan Lokur and others were not called in to testify. (It must be mentioned that one of the heads of the BJP legal cell made the cut).

          The pre-legislative consultation policy of 2014 mandates a 30-day consultation period with the general public before a law can be approved by the cabinet for introduction in Parliament.

          This consultation process, which involves sharing the draft with the public, must be accompanied by: (i) Explanations for its enactment, (ii) Financial considerations, and (iii) An evaluation of the law’s potential impact. Moreover, the comments received during the consultation should be made available on the ministry’s website.

          In the case of these Criminal Law Bills, however, a committee was formed with its members and objectives shrouded in secrecy, shielding it from public scrutiny. There exists a notable absence of a clear and compelling rationale for why such a substantial reform was undertaken. Especially since the Home Minister himself stated in Parliament that the primary objective was to alter a few specific sections of the law.

          Eliminating the Opposition

          The laws were rashly amended to incorporate draconian definitions of sedition, disregard for special statutes, rape not being gender neutral, extensive police custody, and who can be branded a terrorist. The Bills were passed in an almost empty House, as the government had suspended 146 Opposition MPs. These MPs represented 34 crore people, 25 per cent of India’s population. Parliament has been turned into a deep, dark chamber.

          We are all for reform. Who can be against reform? But in the name of reform, let us not become more repressive than the colonisers. While there is an undeniable need to reform the colonial era criminal framework, the current criminal law Acts will treat citizens worse than how “native subjects” of the Raj were dealt with.

          [This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, January 05, 2024]

          Posted 5th January 2024 by Derek O'Brien

          An A to Z List For 2023

          by Derek O'Brien

          A random A to Z List for 2023. You too can draw up your personal A to Z List for the year that just slipped by.

          A: Artificial Intelligence. ChatGPT has still not become this columnist’s personal AI assistant. Have you used DALL.E yet to create artwork from just a descriptive sentence? Deep fakes are a nightmare. For better or for worse, AI is here to stay.

          B: Barbie. The only English film this columnist watched this year. Loved it. Innocuous at first glance but the underlying theme of women empowerment endures.

          C: Chandrayaan-3. Our scientists at ISRO. Our world champions.

          D: Demographic dividend. India surpassed China to become the most populous country in the world. Our demographic dividend is expected to peak around 2041. The next eight years are crucial.

          E: Election Commission. The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 passed in the recently concluded winter session of parliament effectively gives the Union government unilateral power to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. Neutrality?

          F: Fascism. Noun. A way of organising a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government.

          G: G20 summit. A rotational presidency of G20 packaged as a gargantuan achievement.

          H: Hangzhou Asian Games. Record 107 medals for India, 28 gold, 38 silver, 41 bronze.

          I: Inflation. Compared to 2014, the price of rice has gone up by 56 per cent, wheat by 59 per cent, milk by 61 per cent, tomatoes by 115 per cent, and toor dal by 120 per cent. The price of an LPG cylinder crossed ₹ 1,000.

          J: Jumla…

          K: King Khan. What a year! Pathaan. Jawaan. Dunki. Someone’s come a long way from his appearance in the TV serial Fauji in 1988.

          L: LGBTQ. Even though the Supreme Court declined to legalise same-sex marriage, thousands took part in South Asia’s oldest pride walk. Where else, but Kolkata! ❤️ you all.

          M: Manipur. 180 days. 175 dead. Over 70,000 displaced. HE will still not visit.

          N: Naatu Naatu. Unpopular opinion. Not the greatest song to come out of India. However, thrilled it was awarded the best original song at the 95th Academy Awards. The first Indian song to achieve this.

          O: Odisha train accident. 296 people died in the crash, the deadliest in over two decades. A CAG report revealed that over 50 per cent of the compulsory track safety inspections were not done. Railway safety has to mean more than megalomaniacal selfie points at stations.

          P: Parliament. 2001 attack: the Home Minister LK Advani and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave a statement in the house within three working days. A full discussion happened on the floor of parliament over two days. 2023: 146 MPs suspended for demanding a discussion and statement from the Home Minister. Radio silence from the government on the floor of parliament.

          Q: Quiz. There used to be the Bournvita Quiz Contest, Quiz Time and more. Nowadays, you very often see the word ‘quiz’ in the headlines. Guess why? Move over Siddhartha Basu, Amitabh Bachchan and another quizmaster. ED and CBI ‘quiz’ political opponents of this government every day.

          R: Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani. Fun film. Accuse this columnist of parliamentary bias, but the standout performance was that of Jaya Bachchan in the role of Dhanalaxmi Randhawa.

          S: Sexual harassment against wrestlers. Champions in tears. Returning their medals. Quitting the sport. Heartbreak. (Someone has come up with the spunky idea that there should be one candidate put up to fight the good fight against the sitting Prime Minister in the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. Sakshi Malik)

          T: Turkey earthquake. Lethal. 7.8 magnitude earthquake resulted in 50,000 lives lost. In a show of global solidarity, citizens from 94 countries joined in the relief and rescue efforts.

          U: Uttarakhand tunnel collapse. 41 workers trapped for 17 days before they were rescued with the help of 12 rat-hole miners. Real life heroes: Feroz Qureshi, Munna Quereshi, Rashid, Irshad, Naseem, Monu, Naseer, Ankur, Jatin, Saurabh, Waqeel Hasan, and Devender. (Ironic, since rat-hole mining has been banned in India since 2014).

          V: Vacancies. There are 6,000 seats vacant in central universities for SC/ST/OBC students. 5,000 posts of judges vacant in district and subordinate courts. Over 82,000 vacancies in paramilitary forces. 1.5 lakh posts vacant in railways.

          W: World Cup. India broke a billion hearts. Shami sprinted to the fastest 50 wickets in World Cup Cricket.

          X: No, Elon.

          Y: Youth. One in four youth in India is unemployed. 45 per cent of young graduates under the age of 25 do not have jobs.

          Z: Zionism. Go google the term.

          [This article was also published in NDTV | Tuesday, December 30, 2023]

          Posted 30th December 2023 by Derek O'Brien