The book, the two volumes are must beyond the weight it has, more than their weight. We had an excellent discourse. First introduction by the author, then the man who is in action, Secretary General Rajya Sabha, Shri P.C. Mody. He also, in his brief address, reflected on the relevance of it. And then we had the Attorney General of India, as usual, making his contribution, in-depth contribution in global perspective. And that being the situation, I would have hardly to add anything. At best, I can repackage. And repackaging is something we all must avoid. So, my address will be brief.
I have known Dr. Chauhan ever since I came to Delhi as a Member of Parliament in 1989. He was enrolled as an advocate in 1987. I have seen his passion. I have seen his mission. He has been focusing on this subject for long, for decades. As a matter of fact, he reminds me of the challenges the society has created for us. In his long journey, he faced headwinds. Many a time, I had to sit with him and lament that we’ll have to work much harder to get recognised. We’ll have to do much more than others. I remember when he first focused on anti-defection law with passion, with mission. He wanted to read too much of morality in it. I said too much because I’m guided by the contemporaneous moral of the society. And then he took to writing this. It took him quite long to be designated senior and he was designated because there was no way out. If such a person is reflecting on Parliament: powers, functions and privileges, it is commendable.
Democracy is reflected first by Parliament. There can be no democracy without parliament. And ladies and gentlemen, we happen to be the oldest, the mother of democracy, at the moment most vibrant. No country in the world has constitutionally structured democracy at all levels. But our Constitution has provided for democracy at the village level, at the district level, at the municipal level, at the state level, and at the central level. We are the only such country in the world.
Parliament, if it is to be defined, is the most possible platform of representation of the people. I say most possible because eligibility to vote has an age factor and those below that age are not entitled to reflect themselves. Therefore it is not very idealistic, but it is very close to idealism. So parliament reflects will of the people. It is the most pure, sanctified platform where views of the people converge and there is emergence of the executive. The executive is dependent on parliament. It has to be approved by parliament, the house of the people. And that being so, we have to focus first on the electoral system. Because if the electoral system is vitiated, so would be the representation in the parliament.
We have been rightly accoladed globally. We have an Election Commission that has worked. And it has worked in a fashion that global recognition is coming to it. Many countries in the world want their elections to be overseen by our Election Commission. It’s a constitutional body. There will always be urge to criticize, to get the best of it. But we all are assured because our bureaucracy is so trained. Our election machinery is so greased and fueled. Independence is never a casualty. So, we have a parliament.
Now, what is parliament required to do? What are its powers? One of the powers of the parliament is to hold the executive accountable.
The executive is held accountable only through the parliamentary mechanism. What does that require? It requires that the parliament functions through dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation. But if parliament is dysfunctional, parliament is ravaged, sacrileged by disruptions and disruptions, accountability does not take place.
The primary function of the Parliament is it must be functional, optimally functional. It must have dialogue and debate. It must hold the government accountable. Second, the Parliament is required to translate aspirations of the people. Those expressions have to be realised. There has to be policy evolution.
Now look at what has happened in the last few years. People have tasted development. People have come to have banking inclusion, toilet in the house, gas connection in the house, a house of their own by virtue of affordable housing, connectivity in the villages, road connectivity, school education, potable water. When these deliveries have taken place, when transparent accountable mechanism is in place because of digitization, the nation is in aspirational mood. It never saw the development it saw in last 10 years, but now they want more. The urge is aspirational. That aspirational urge has to be satisfied by the parliamentarians engaging in overdrive by evolution of policies and that can emanate only when the Parliament functions.
Undoubtedly ours is an economy on the rise. No country has had rise of the kind we have had in the last decade. We are fifth largest global economy, we will soon be the third largest. But the challenge is there. Eight-fold increase in per capita income has to be achieved for a developed nation status. And that can happen only when parliament, its committees perform and outperform themselves.
Another function of parliament is, it is a platform for thinking ahead of times. We are living in times where on quicksand of technology, another industrial revolution, disruptive technologies, things are changing by the seconds. We have to evolve policies of regulation. We have to find methodology to convert challenges into opportunities. No doubt we are resisting progress, but our progress has to be measured in comparable terms now. When we are ignited by an ecosystem of hope and possibility, our young minds want more to be done and for that parliament is a platform.
Secondly, if Parliament does not exercise its powers. There can be no vacuum. We will have other organs stepping in. People will take to agitations. People will find a way out and therefore if parliament is non-functional, it will gradually get into irrelevance, and that will be a threat to democracy.
So, a functional parliament is quintessential to survival of democracy, because it is parliament that allows you power of expression. I’m coming to privileges. A power of expression where no one can question. What you say in parliament, you are immunized from any other concern, you can’t be taken to civil court, you can’t feel culpability in it. When you have that supreme authority, that no matter what you say in parliament, no citizen of this country, 1.4 billion people cannot take recourse to law if they are hurt. That puts a heavy obligation on parliament itself. The privileges come with heavy responsibility.
I have said on occasions, and even by way of point of order, decision. Parliament is not a place for free fall of information. Parliament is not a place where you settle scores with people or institutions that cannot have their say in Parliament. Every word spoken in Parliament, every document tabled has to be authenticated because your privileges cannot graduate to a level of trampling upon privileges of millions of others, and therefore, members of parliament have to show by example, by conduct, by demeanor, which can be emulated by others.
At this time in history, at this phase of history, the turning point, fortunately for all of us, Bharat is recognized as a global power. This century is bound to belong to us. We are the rightful claimants of it. We are on the right track. But if there are certain discordant situations, the only place to smoothen those rough edges is Parliament.
Quite often and on many occasions, we have to decide issues on account of practice. We were taking recourse to parliamentary practice. Kaul and Shakdher – we have judges by that name, sir, but Kaul and Shakdher were very different. They were connected to parliament institutions in capacity like Mr. P.C. Mody is at the moment. But now we have Dr. Chauhan. It is not easy to even visualise fructifying such a venture. Because surely, the author can’t be commercially rewarded. Very few will take recourse to these books. They will be researchers, law students, policymakers, parliamentarians, and the kind. Their number is limited. So what you have done, Dr. Chauhan, is commendable. It is service to the nation. It is a facet which we all must subscribe to. I have had the occasion to glance through the book, and I found he has worked so hard, so diligently. When it came to committees, he quoted one of the former prime Ministers of U.K. What is he? You can quote only when you read a large material.
Just imagine my pain. Only a month back or so, we found on a particular seat in Rajya Sabha, Council of States, a wad of notes, Rs. 500 in denomination. What has really pained me is that no one has come to claim it. That’s a very serious issue. You can carry notes, maybe out of necessity but then no one has claimed, that’s a collective challenge to our ethical standards.
For a long time this country did not have a committee on ethics. It was only in the last century, in late 90s, that Rajya Sabha for the first time came to have a committee on ethics which is functional. As Chairman, Rajya Sabha, I can tell you ladies and gentlemen, anyone who is there in Rajya Sabha as a member is a human resource to reckon with brilliant credentials, great exposure and experience but when it comes to action they are guided by someone else.
I would urge that the parliament will fructify only if the parliamentarians have their free say on issues. I envy their enormous talent, their capacity, their contribution. They are very learned people and therefore, I am sure this book will be an eye opener to those who urge to take this nation forward.
This is a book not to be read from A to Z. This is a reference book – the two volumes. And that Dr. Chauhan, I have seen, has facilitated it. If you wish to focus on a particular subject, you do it. I’m sure there will be an electronic version of it and it will have a search component so that one can immediately look for it so while Dr. Chauhan, it may not be fiscally rewarding for you, you and the publisher will barely manage to strike the balance on a personal satisfaction, you should be delighted.
Secondly, just imagine, don’t go by weight, don’t go by number of pages to pen down these, manifold pages had to be read by him because we are a country where people look. आपके कपड़े में दाग कहां है, देवेंद्र जी? देवेंद्र सिंह जी, मैं दाग को देखूं, मेरी नज़र जाएगी। We must learn to look the positive side of it, and Therefore, distinguished audience, I wish the other well. At our level, whatever we can do, the Secretary-General will take steps. We have already discussed his presence, he speaks about it but I am sure all legislatures in the country and outside will be enormously benefited by this treatise which is a testament of erudition, dedication and hard work. Once again, congratulations to you and congratulations also to Mrs. Chauhan and the family members.
My journey and that of Dr. Chauhan has been on two rails, people may not be knowing about it. We have known each other from very close quarters. We have had common problems, common suffering, common pain. On occasions we have discussed only through body language. We have seen for ourselves the kind of headwind we face, the kind of air pockets we land in. We have faced situations which I can’t describe, I leave it at that.
Congratulations, Dr. Chauhan. Please continue with it. Thank you so much
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