A parliamentary democracy or an executive democracy

2023 JUN 5

Mains   > Constitution   >   Seperation of Powers   >   Parliamentary Reforms

IN NEWS:

  • The new Parliament building was inaugurated amidst much controversy. Beneath the controversy is an overlooked fact: the increasing subordination of the “Parliament” in India’s “parliamentary democracy.”

PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY:

  • The Indian Constitution provides for representative parliamentary democracy under which the executive is responsible to the legislature for all its policies and actions.
  • By its very nature, the parliamentary system establishes a responsible government:
    • The ministers are responsible to the Parliament for all their acts of omission and commission.
    • The Parliament exercises control over the ministers through various devices like question hour, discussions, adjournment motion, no confidence motion, etc.
    • It supervises the activities of the Executive with the help of its committees like committee on government assurance, committee on subordinate legislation, committee on petitions, etc.
  • Besides these, Parliamentary democracies put several safeguards in place against executive dominance or abuse:
    • Bicameralism: i.e. an Upper House that acts as a revising chamber, where interests other than those of the brute majority are represented.
    • In order to enact its agenda, the executive must command a majority in Parliament. This opens up the space for intra-party dissent.
    • The Opposition is granted certain rights in Parliament, and certain limited control over parliamentary proceedings, in order to publicly hold the executive to account.
    • The interests of Parliament against the executive are meant to be represented by the Speaker, a neutral and independent authority.
  • However, in India, the role of parliament has diminished and the system has gradually morphed into an executive democracy.

WHAT LED TO THIS SITUATION?

  • Anti defection law:
    • The possibility of intra-party dissent within Parliament has been stamped out by virtue of the Tenth Schedule. It has strengthened the power of the party leadership and penalises disobedience of the party whip with disqualification from the House.
    • Read more on Anti defection law here: https://www.ilearncana.com/details/Anti-Defection-Law/3183
  • Executive control on Parliament’s proceedings:
    • The manner of proceedings in Parliament are under the complete control of the executive, with no real constitutional checks upon how that control is exercised. Hence, the Opposition’s scope for participation depends upon the discretion of the executive.
  • Speaker’s neutrality:
    • In India, the Speaker is not independent. He/she is not required to give up membership of their political party, and is not constitutionally obligated to act impartially. This has led to an increasing trend of Speaker acting in a partisan manner in order to advance the interests of the executive over the interests of the House.
    • For instance, when the ruling party wishes to avoid effective scrutiny in the Rajya Sabha over Bills, the Speaker classifies the Bill as a “money bill”, thus depriving the Rajya Sabha of the right to make amendments.
  • Excessive use of ordinance route:
    • An ordinance, in theory, is meant to be used only for an emergency, while Parliament is not in session. However, in practice, it is used as a parallel process of law-making, especially when the executive wants to bypass the Upper House altogether, at least for a period of time, and create a fait accompli.
  • Declining productivity:
    • Owing to frequent disruptions, the number of days parliament is in session is decreasing. In 1960’s it was for an average of 120 days in a year and in 2016, it is only 70 days.
  • Declining standards of Parliamentary scrutiny:
    • Many important bills are passed by the Parliament through a voice vote, without much debating and without referring them to the parliamentary committees.

WAY FORWARD:

  • Prescribing a minimum number of days to meet:
    • National Commission to review the working of the Constitution (NCRWC) recommended that it shall be 120 and 100 days respectively for Lok sabha and rajya Sabha.
  • Strengthen the role of the opposition:
    • In order to strengthen the role of the opposition, the institution of shadow cabinet can be formed in India.
  • Mandatory scrutiny by committee:
    • All bills should be scrutinized by the parliamentary committees. For this, the rules must be amended.
  • Reform in anti-defection law:
    • The law should be applicable only during the passage of no confidence motion. In all other circumstances the individual MPs must be given freedom of expression and voting
    • The adjudicating power of speaker with respect to anti-defection law can be transferred to Election Commission of India
  • Adopt best practices:
    • Setting up a Constitution Committee:
      • Instead of the Constitution Amendments being presented to Parliament like ordinary pieces of legislation in the form of Bills, the device of a Constitution Committee of Parliament can be constituted
    • Congressional Budget Office:
      • India could create a ‘Parliamentary Budget Office’ (PBO), akin to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office.
      • PBO could act as an independent and impartial institution devoted to conducting a technical and objective analysis of any Bill

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Do you think the Constitution of India does not accept the principle of strict separation of powers rather it is based on the principle of ‘checks and balance’? Explain (GS 2, CSE 2021)

Q. Discuss the factors that inhibit the Parliament from fulfilling its objectives and suggest measures to enhance its effectiveness.