Restoring the House - Indian Express

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Restoring the House

Baijayant Jay Panda : Tue Dec 06 2011, 03:32 hrs

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As the depressingly familiar routine of parliamentary logjam plays out yet again, it is worth examining if the rising crescendo of criticism is nearing a tipping point that will finally tilt the balance in favour of a correction. But the reality is that there will be no correction until the root causes, and not just the superficial symptoms, are addressed. Both the criticisms and the proposed solutions so far treat parliamentary disruptions as the disease, whereas they are merely the symptoms. Notwithstanding a few younger MPs seemingly defying their leaderships with a "no work, no pay" proposal which incidentally I support, but only as a symbolic gesture there has not been a serious debate on the root causes. India's Parliament contains many obsolete rules and conventions that desperately need changing, without which it is illogical to expect lasting change in its functioning (or lack thereof). These rules are rooted in the restrictions of Raj-era limited democracy, as well as an earlier, more genteel, era when Victorian norms, not rules, governed the settlement of disputes. In other words, they are not built to tackle the conflicts that we must, as a nation, work through.

EDITOR

First, the Raj hangover: well before Independence in 1947, the British gradually started involving Indians in governing India. A series of reforms such as the Indian Councils Act of 1909, and the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935 gave Indians limited participation. Although elections were introduced, the ensuing elected body fell far short of being a parliament, with

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Restoring the House - Indian Express

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/restoring-the-house/884369/0

authority denied to it in many crucial areas. The idea was to devolve just enough power to keep the

Follow natives us: from rebelling, but mostly just to provide them a platform to blow off steam.
That TOPICS mindset survives, with successive governments not just this one happy to treat HOT Parliament as a platform for the opposition to vent its ire, but not to the extent that it can exert true pressure. That would be too uncomfortable, requiring the government to mobilise its members, F1 Season, 2013 utilise its political capital, and sell its agenda to the nation. Instead, every government strongly Delhi gangrape prefers the easy option of treating Parliament as a toothless debating house, listening to the opposition with an indulgent smile, and then doing exactly as it pleases. Very British Raj, except
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Restoring the House - Indian Express

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