Parliament must conduct more purposeful debates
Well-meaning and knowledgeable people in India are getting increasingly worried about the fact that the country is passing through a difficult phase.
As they yearn for effective solutions, what they need is deeper introspection, particularly keeping in view the actual ground realities.
A drastic change in the mindset, of not only all those who govern, including political leaders and bureaucrats, but also of intelligentsia and the media who shape public opinion, is an immediate necessity.
Western concept of limitless industrial development cannot be a role model for highly populated countries like ours, deriving sustenance from farm economy for long.
We must also remember that India’s journey towards goal of happier life for its entire population started from abject poverty .
The present problems and solutions shall get easier attention if summarised as below.
Two major indicators of success story are:
(I) Population of India in the poverty ridden period of 1947 was mere 35 crore. It has now grown to 135 crore.
The vision of the freedom fighters, their dedicated efforts and good governance brought reasonable prosperity so much so that the country has been able to feed its entire population without any notable signs of starvation.
(ii) Before August 15, 1947 there was not a single Indian known the world over, except perhaps Swami Vivekanand.
Now some four to five million of talented Indian diaspora spread the world over commands respect. Even in the political scenario of highly developed United States of America, citizens of Indian origin are a force to reckon with.
The third major indicator of success, yet most significant, is the effective establishment of Parliament, the fountain source of all power for governance in a democracy.
The political leaders of all shades are committing a grave mistake by remaining indifferent to such a developing situation. Parliament, a forum for purposeful debates by duly elected representatives of the people drawn from all parts of the country, is being rendered into a mute spectator of disturbances and unruly behaviour.
The constitutional power and authority of the Parliament thus being gradually eroded creates, centres of power for mobocracy which are being used by intelligent but anti-social activists for exploiting people’s grievance for their own advantage. A dangerous phase, however, it
POLITICAL SYSTEM GRADUALLY UNDERMINING THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENT AND ITS EFFICACY IS A CAUSE OF WORRY
is getting very much accelerated.
Another factor contributing to lessening of Parliament’s effective role is the emergence of the culture wherein whatever is decided at the top level of the political parties has to be accepted even ignoring, the grassroots experience of the elected representative who are now supposed to play second fiddle.
The situation is taking the shape of ‘manufactured consent’, a term coined by wellknown linguist Chomsky, which has emerged in the political system — a very antithesis for governance in a democracy.
The malaise has become so deep that remedy may now lie only in shock therapy to be administered to the entire political system.
To generate adequate awareness, it is necessary to cite only those significant examples which may have deep impact on the entire political scenario.
Two such moves come to my mind immediately. While one is the passing of the ‘Food Security Bill’ in the Parliament in 2013, the other could be launch of the high cost project of Bullet Train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
If the Parliament was working as visualised by the founding fathers, the MPs would have emphasised that all people in rural areas store their farm produce in their own homes and take care that no food grain for their use or surplus gets wasted, decayed or rotted.
Hence for ensuring food security particularly for poverty ridden sections of people in some different parts of the country, the Parliament could have modified the Bill so that much smaller and appropriate schemes could have been evolved.
Similarly when Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the prestigious project of Bullet Train from Ahmedabad to Mumbai costing Rs 1,10,000 crore, many a question would have been asked about the cost benefit ratio, had the Parliament been working normally, .
The Parliament in its course of normal functioning would have directed the government to hold the costly project of Bullet trains till reasonable level of essential services for rail transport are ensured for the common man.