Book Review
By Umakant Lakhera
Indian Parliament – Samvidhan Sadan to Sansad Bhawan
By Devender Singh
“What is there in a name? That which we call rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” said Shakespeare in his play, Romeo and Juliet. With the inauguration of new Sansad Bhawan, the iconic old Parliament building, comprising the legendary Central Hall and the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha Chambers, has been rechristened the ‘Samvidhan Sadan’. It was in the Central Hall that the Constituent Assembly met and deliberated and gave to us – We, the People – The Constitution of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of India.
It was during the 17th Lok Sabha that the new Parliament building was constructed and inaugurated in record time despite the pandemic. Even countries like the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and France are yet to construct new Parliaments. The old parliament building, a construct of the British Raj, had started aging and there was a great seating constraint, which would have further accentuated with the increase in the number of MPs of both the Houses with the enactment of law by Parliament in terms of Article 82. Moreover, the old building seemed incongruous and incompatible with the shine and glamour of New India.
Devender Singh has brought yet another book, ‘The Indian Parliament – Samvidhan Sadan to Sansad Bhawan’ – after construction of the new Parliament, published by LexisNexis. The author documents the new parliamentary tradition
with the President of India delivering the state of Union address to the members of both the Houses assembled in the new Lok Sabha Chamber, instead of the Central Hall of old Parliament. A new spectacle has been added to the pomp and ceremony of the presidential procession for the joint address, with the Marshal of the Lok Sabha carrying the Sengol – ‘the Sceptre of the Kings of Yore’, walking ahead of the stately ceremonial procession. The installation of the Sengol in Parliament is viewed by many as a relic of monarchy, though it was a symbol of righteousness and punishment- the Raj Danda.
The author is spot on that Parliament is not a mere structure of bricks and mortar, but the supreme representative, deliberative, legislative institution of the nation. Parliament can perform its multifarious functions if endowed with a robust tool kit of accountability, meets regularly, and holds informed and well-structured discussions to secure accountability of the executive. But there has been, over time, a considerable erosion in the legislative power to hold the executive to account. The average sittings and the duration of the sittings of Parliament have declined precipitously. Even the Central Legislative Assembly under the Britishers sat for 74 days in a year. This is deeply worrying if compared to the sittings of some of the leading parliaments of the world.
Lord Hailsham once described the British Parliament as ‘Executature’ – a legislative body under the control of the executive. When legislations are pushed through in Parliament without discussion or a sham of discussion, Parliament becomes ‘Executature’ – a rubber stamp of the Executive. The author aptly points out that “the members of the treasury benches are seen to be more belligerent on occasions than the members of the opposition. An unsavoury spectacle is the intermittent verbal tug of war between the Members and the Presiding Officers.”
The author rightly makes a case for revisiting the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business so that Parliament meets for at least hundred days in a year and Members get adequate opportunities to speak in Parliament to call the executive to account. There is also a well considered suggestion that India would emerge as a vibrant and robust democracy if the Prime Minister’s Question Time is introduced.
Rightly, there is a need for changing the nomenclature – Private Members’ business, which is a relic of the British Raj. All members are legislators and therefore have inherent right to initiate legislative proposals. Also, the Rules of Procedure needs amendment to provide for convening Parliament at the initiative of one third MPs and also to introduce and consider legislation when at least one-third of the MPs so demand. This will help reduce disruption of normal proceedings of the House like the running of Question Hour and also significantly curtail the tendency to move adjournment motions.
Besides, Singh sets out the historical background of introduction of a separate Rail Budget in 1925 and its eventual merger with the Annual Budget in 2017 and presentation of a single consolidated Budget to Parliament in terms of Article 112 of the Constitution. There are scholarly chapters on the great republican heritage of India beginning from the Vedic times; the evolution, framing and the working of the Constitution of India; powers and functions of Parliament; legislative and budgetary processes; devices of accountability including Questions; Committee system and how it works; legislature-judiciary interface; role of political parties and opposition in a democracy; elections and electoral systems obtaining in the world and their relative merits and demerits; role of C&AG as supreme audit institution of the country; and, allied aspects of parliamentary democracy not to be found in a single book elsewhere.
The author brings out the finer nuances of the working of Indian Parliament and turns the searchlight on the interplay of democratic institutions, the dynamics of parliamentary government, the public perception of Parliament, the intermittent democratic disquiet and the future of democracy itself.
The book is a fine blend of constitutional precepts, parliamentary practices as obtaining and documents the merits and the flaws and the failings of our parliamentary democratic system and throws open questions for wider and deeper reflections. The profound concern is how to make Parliament the quintessential forum of debate and discussion for strengthening our democratic edifice. The chapter on Making of the Constitution is so refreshing as it quotes the founding fathers from the Constituent Assembly bringing out views and voices of the founding fathers firsthand.
The author captures in his lucid, highly readable text, traversing history, procedure, precedents, methods, and even anecdotal accounts giving the reader an excellent up to date reference manual on what Parliament stands for, and how it functions. One who has had a close ringside view of the working of Parliament for almost four decades, the author expresses deep worry over the general fall and decline in parliamentary ethos and suggests radical innovative measures to make Parliament the supreme institution of accountability.
No disagreeing that “Parliament is not a mere structure of bricks and mortar, but the supreme representative, deliberative and legislative institution of the nation”. Parliament can perform its multifarious functions, if endowed with a robust toolkit of accountability, meets regularly and holds informed and well-structured discussions with a view to securing accountability of the executive. Accountability is about instilling or reinforcing an ethos of legal compliance and efficient practices tempered by the consideration of fostering a sense of responsibility, transparency, and good governance, which is at the heart of Parliamentary oversight and scrutiny. The author fondly hopes that new Sansad Bhavan would become the sanctum sanctorum of our democracy if there are well structured discussions, regular periodic meetings at least for hundred days in a year and if new innovative procedural measures are introduced. Indubitably, it’s only a functionally robust Parliament which can secure accountability and good governance.
In the words of Prof Balram Pani, Dean of Colleges, University of Delhi, “The sheer scale of treatment of a wide array of closely conjoined subjects, wealth of information, incisive analysis, and well-merited suggestions, make it a compelling read.” In my considered view it’s a ready textbook not only for students, academia, journalists and legislators- present and aspiring- but also to all those passionate champions of civil liberties and those who wish to sharpen their own argumentative skills and enhance their knowledge of democratic governance.
(Umakant Lakhera is a Senior Journalist, Commentator and Author)
