Tag: politics

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 Ultimately, these laws had to be repealed.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

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

                      New Parliament should get rid of bad laws

                      by Derek O'Brien

                      Narendra Modi’s BJP ran the government in India for 10 years. That government has been rejected. So we have a new starting point going forward. As Parliament is reconstituted after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, let’s be straight up. The following laws should be reconsidered and repealed to ensure justice, equality, liberty for all citizens.

                      Citizenship Amendment Act: As the Citizenship Amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament in 2019, the country protested over concerns that coupled with the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), it could lead to the disenfranchisement of many Indian citizens. Home Minister Amit Shah’s insistence that the NRC would be implemented nationwide, despite the disastrous pilot project in Assam — where around 6 per cent of residents were left out of the final NRC list — exacerbated these concerns. If this exclusion rate is extrapolated nationally, crores of Indians could potentially become stateless.

                      Criminal Law Bills: The recent arbitrarily-enacted Criminal Law Bills, require urgent reconsideration and repeal since they encompass the provisions on marital rape and sedition, and pose the risk of “police raj” by criminalising “resisting, refusing, ignoring or disregarding to conform to any direction given by a police officer”. This is a slippery slope to authoritarianism and undermines fundamental freedoms. The devil is in the details. These laws, with their significant discrepancies and inherent injustices, need thorough scrutiny and stakeholder consultations. (This columnist was a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs where constructive suggestions and voices of dissent from members of the Opposition were ignored in the final recommendations.)

                      Marital Rape Exception: 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”. This exception stems from archaic English laws that did not recognise men and women as equals. It undermines the fundamental principle that rape is a violation of personal autonomy and bodily integrity, regardless of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. It’s high time we bid farewell to this outdated notion.

                      Sedition: The use of Section 124A of the IPC (the old sedition law) had been kept in abeyance following a Supreme Court order in May 2022. The court had given the government time to reconsider the law. Subsequently, the Home Minister claimed that sedition has been removed from the list of offences in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. This new version avoids the term “sedition” but introduces the vaguely-defined offence of “endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India”. This broad definition, contrary to the 22nd Law Commission’s recommendation for clarity, leaves room for misuse and threatens to stifle dissent and protest.

                      The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Act, 2023: The Act changes the composition of the selection committee to appoint Election Commissioners. The Supreme Court’s directive that the Chief Justice should be a part of the Committee was disregarded. The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha), and a nominated Union cabinet minister now make the selection, giving the Union government total control over the selection.

                      The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023: The Act empowered the Union government to exclusively auction mining leases and composite exploration licences for certain critical high-value minerals such as cadmium, selenium, nickel, cobalt, tin, etc. It also dispensed with the forest clearances required for mine reconnaissance and prospecting operations. It is critical to point out that the Act allows sub-surface excavation as part of reconnaissance, which had been prohibited under the 1957 Act. The environmental consequences of such invasive operations can be severe and irreversible, undermining sustainable development goals and disregarding previously existing environmental protections.

                      The Transgender Persons Act, 2019: The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, only recognises “sexual abuse” with a maximum punishment of two years as opposed to life imprisonment for rape of women. This punishment is insufficient and discriminatory. The law on rape should be inclusive and extend its protection to transgender women, ensuring they receive the same legal safeguards and justice as cisgender women.

                      The Aircraft Act, 1934: The law defines an aircraft as “any machine which can derive support in the atmosphere from reactions of the air”. It includes “balloons, whether fixed or free, airships, kites, gliders and flying machines”. So, yes, your childhood kite is basically an aircraft, and your backyard might just be an aerodrome!

                      [This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, June 21, 2024]

                      Posted 21st 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

                      A fictional BJP manifesto for the year 2034

                      by Derek O'Brien

                      We are in the month of May. The year is 2034. Virat Kohli is the manager of the Indian cricket team. Shah Rukh Khan wins the Filmfare award for Lifetime Achievement. T-10 has become the most followed cricket league in the world. Elon Musk has sent a manned spacecraft called Musk X to Mars. Diljit Dosanjh wins a Grammy. Sam Altman is advocating suffrage for AI robots. Jhumpa Lahiri bags the Nobel Prize for Literature.

                      And I am now reading the BJP Election Manifesto 2034. What an impressive cover design. Outstanding layout. With tongue firmly in cheek, here are a few excerpts from the document, along with commentary.

                      Rs 15 lakh in every account: During the former Prime Minister’s first-ever Lok Sabha campaign in 2014, he had promised to deposit Rs 15 lakh into every citizen’s bank account. Two decades on, we are pleased to have finally delivered. Just 30 days after we are sworn in, the money will be transferred into your bank accounts. We must also acknowledge the linguistic contribution made by the former Home Minister at the time. He was the first person to use and popularise the term “jumla” (an unfulfilled promise). We are delighted that this five-letter word has received international recognition, and become the 6,00,001st addition to the Oxford English Dictionary.

                      Bullet train: You will recall, the first in the series was launched in 2030, a mere eight years behind schedule. Now that we have connected Mumbai to Ahmedabad, we commit ourselves to launching ten more bullet trains. Seven of these will be in Gujarat: Vadodara, Surat, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Bhuj and Vadnagar (the birthplace of former Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi).

                      Double farmers’ income: The dignity and empowerment of farmers has always been one of our top priorities. In 2016, we, “the party with a difference”, made a commitment to double farmers’ income by 2022. However, because of certain “Nehruvian bottlenecks”, there was a timeline malfunction (in the language of ChatGPT, this means there was a monumental mess of deadlines). But “ache din” are only months away. Sorry, that was auto-correct. Please read as “achhe din”.

                      National Wax Museum: We propose the setting up of a National Wax Museum, and shall call it NaMom. One thousand life-sized wax (Hindi for wax is “mom”, pronounced “moam”) statues will feature in NaMom. These will include, among others, once-prominent television anchors who have since retired to a quiet life in Dehradun.

                      Implement women’s reservation: Among all our commitments, this is the easiest to make and roll out. This is our USP, where we use content created for earlier manifestos of our party and dutifully put them in the current manifesto. This makes us the only political party in the world which has a right-wing ideology, but has the generosity and diversity to blend a communist ideology into ours. We call this CPM — Copy Paste Method!

                      Demonetisation: Where were you on the evening of November 8, 2016? The historic televised speech at 8 pm was watched more than any saas-bahu serial in the history of Indian television! We are sure all of you remember the announcement made by the world’s most accomplished teleprompter orator. We have commemorated this great occasion with an acronym, GEL. Great Economic Learning. Since then, such a telecast has never been repeated — it won’t be for the next 100 years. As any life coach will tell you, the greatest learning is failure.

                      P.S. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any living person or event is merely coincidental. In the heat, dust and rhetoric of elections, let us remind each other not to take ourselves so seriously. Glad we pressed pause and had a good old-fashioned laugh.

                      [This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, May 24, 2024]

                      Posted 24th May 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

                      Modi trying to outdo RSS’s Golwalkar

                      by Derek O'Brien

                      SEVEN OUT OF 10 ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government come from the Sangh Parivar. Four out of 10 governors are former pracharaks and volunteers of the RSS and its affiliates. Chief ministers and deputy chief ministers in eight out of the 12 BJP-ruled states are swayamsevaks.

                      Many officials, trained and subscribing to the Sangh ideology, currently work under various union public services.

                      The Indian Council of Historical Research, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Film and Television Institute of India, Indian Council of Medical Research, Central Board of Film Certification, among others, are all manned by the BJP-RSS members or sympathizers.

                      Paramilitary training: An answer to a question in the Rajya Sabha showed that the RSS has been providing paramilitary training. The RSS chief has publicly admitted that the Sangh is capable of raising its own military force (even faster than the state’s own forces). In 2016, the offspring of the RSS, the Bajrang Dal, was charged with conducting “mock drills” with rifles.

                      B S Moonje, a former Hindu Mahasabha leader, in 1935 in his ‘Preface to the Scheme of the Central Hindu Military Society and its Military School’, wrote: “This training is meant for qualifying and fitting our boys for the game of killing masses of men with the ambition of winning victory with the best possible casualties of dead and wounded while causing the utmost possible harm to the adversary.”

                      Nearly 90 years since, six out of 10 agreements to run Sainik School have been awarded to RSS sympathizers or allied organizations. Two of these are run by a Sangh stalwart who was among the 68 people accused by the 2009 Liberhan Commission of leading the country “to the brink of communal discord.” The Sangh-affiliated Bhonsala Military School, run by Central Hindu Military Education Society (which allegedly trained persons accused in the Nanded and Malegaon blasts) has also been approved to operate a Sainik school.

                      RSS role in freedom movement: Tomes have been written about how the RSS distanced itself from India’s freedom struggle. In the 1930s, when Mahatma Gandhi launched his Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha, K B Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS, announced that the organization would not participate. During the Quit India movement, the Bombay Home Department, under British administration at the time, reported, “The Sangh has scrupulously kept itself within the law, and in particular, has refrained from taking part in the disturbances that broke out in August 1942.”

                      Post-Independence, the RSS has been banned thrice by the Government of India. The first instance was in 1948 following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. While banning the RSS, Sardar Patel said, “Undesirable and even dangerous activities have been carried out by members of the Sangh. It has been found that in several parts of the country, individual members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have indulged in acts of violence involving arson, robbery, dacoity, and murder and have collected illicit arms and ammunition.”

                      Why has the RSS, which gives big talk about organizational discipline, not uttered a word about China grabbing land during Narendra Modi’s tenure? Or, about the BJP’s recruitment of corrupt leaders from Congress and other parties, and using bureaucrats to replace party men in the Cabinet?

                      The BJP-RSS link: RSS shakhas across India increased by 62 per cent between 2014-23. According to a Hudson Institute paper titled, ‘Hindu Nationalist Influence in the United States, 2014-2021: The Infrastructure of Hindutva Mobilizing’, “Between 2001- 2019, according to available tax returns, seven Sangh-affiliated charitable groups reportedly spent at least $158.9 million on their programming”. Half of this was spent between 2014 and 2019. Is the RSS a registered entity? It is neither a political party, a company, nor a charitable trust. So, what is it? It collects funds worth millions from multiple, undisclosed channels. Does it pay taxes?

                      The current Sangh-BJP leadership belongs to a generation that was raised with a commitment to the RSS ideology — one that thrives on the polarizing writings of its founders. M S Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts identifies Muslims and Christians as internal threats. In his 2008 book Jyotipunj, Narendra Modi retells the life and times of 16 RSS men who have inspired him. The longest piece is on Golwalkar. The invective Modi spewed recently at an election rally in Rajasthan shows that he is working tirelessly to outdo Golwalkar.

                      [This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, April 26, 2024]

                      Posted 26th April 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