This is deftly done by a senior in-House officer Lok Sabha, Devender Singh in a book titled “The Indian Parliament-Beyond the Seal and Signature of Democracy” which was released recently in Parliament Library building in the presence of BJP senior leader Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, besides the Cabinet Ministers Mr. Venkaiah Naidu and Mr. Ananth Kumar, Prof. K.V.Thomas Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Mr. Bhartruhari Mahtab, Chairman, Railway Convention Committee and Mr. Rakesh Singh, Chief Whip of BJP Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha. While the dignitaries on the dais extolled the book for its being an all-purpose vehicle to keep tab of what Indian Parliament stands for, its functions and functionaries and expounding eloquently its supremacy in terms of translating the will of the people into tangible benefits to them, some of the issues touched in the book need to be highlighted for what they really say. It is interesting to note that BJP, though numerically enviably redoubtable in the lower house after decades of unprincipled and shaky coalition governance to which India stood exposed for over three decades, did not command such a safety in numbers in the Council of States, till the Lok Sabha 2014 election.

When it found that crucial bills like the Goods and Services Tax(GST), though passed subsequently, could not be sailed through, no less a person than the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, himself elected to the upper house, ran down the relevance of the Rajya Sabha. The book cites Dr.Radhakrishnan, then the Chairman Rajya Sabha, observing that the upper house should try everything in their power to justify to the public that a second chamber is essential to prevent hasty legislation.

Again, the book cites Prof. P.J.Kurien, the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, “the second chamber provides checks and balances and anyone who questions its relevance has not understood the basic structure of the Constitution”. Kurien reminded Jaitley that “a government not having clear majority in the second chamber has to tread extra cautiously and act responsively to secure its cooperation”. History bears out this conclusively as PV.Narashima Rao sans numbers in the Lok Sabha ran the nation smoothly by even making do with far-reaching economic and trade policy reforms . How Indira Gandhi did not have majority in the Rajya Sabha but managed to get the legislative business through is an open secret of personal persuasive skill in securing cross-party cooperation. It is also revealing to those regularly covering Parliament proceedings for decades that when serious debates and discussions supervene in both Houses, the numbers of member present are deplorably meager in recent times, unlike a decade ago. So it is welcome that the book underlines the desideratum that a member must attend the sittings of Parliament and the Committees he is a member of. “The live telecast proceedings of a deserted House barely fulfilling the requirement of quorum, denudes the image of Parliament in the public eye, raises questions about the seriousness of the debates and puts question mark on the faith of members of Parliament as an effectual organ of the State”, the book is dot on the spot with such sober and somber homilies. The author aptly quotes the veteran Parliamentarian Era Sezhiyan that “it will be very difficult to recover the dignity of the state and the confidence of the people when there is deep moral bankruptcy” withal particularly when this entails a member because as the book contends “the people rightly expect that the MPs uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the nation and faithfully discharge their duties”.

Alluding to Parliament-Judiciary interface which came to a climax when the apex court struck down the 99th Constitution Amendment Act 2014 which was construed as usurping the legislative power and thwarting the will of Parliament in the appointment of judges, the book rightly gives instances where the judiciary played a key role in sticking to the cardinal canons of Constitution. The expansion of the concept of locus standi by the Supreme Court in Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for protection of human rights of the weaker sections of society reinforced the constitutional and legal guarantees in accord with the general will of Parliament and the Constitutional provisions. The focus of PILs subsequently shifted to protection of the environment and the crusade against corruption in cancelling questionable grant of spectrum and allocation of coal blocks. However the point of polemics is the authority of the judiciary to appoint judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court and here the book ardently appeals for an imperative need to bring transparency and complete objectivity in the appointment process to safeguard the credibility of the judiciary and the faith and trust of the people in the judiciary.

The book is also critical of questioning the findings of Constitutional body like the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, particularly at the height of the 2 G scams and coal block allocation shenanigans it exposed in its excoriating reports placed in Parliament. The book lauds the CAG for having “withstood the most severe public and parliamentary scrutiny over the years, notably during the 15th Lok Sabha and emerged unscathed and its image further burnished”. It cryptically contends that CAG’s findings provide critical inputs, facilitate Parliamentary oversight and help secure the accountability of the executive to legislature with the sole objective of good governance”. Rightly the book recommends updating the mandate accorded to the CAG by Parliament in 1971 to “widen the scope of accountability and Parliamentary vigil so as to bring PPP (public-private partnerships) and projects financed out of the funds of the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI) within the audit of CAG”.

Even as the audit reports of CAG get referred to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), set up in 1921 which till the 15th Lok Sabha presented 100 reports, the 2G spectrum report it undertook could not be presented for want of unanimity and consensus particularly as the issue impinged on the ministerial role in the scam. The book notes that the onslaught on the institution of the CAG and the danger of polarization of PAC has provoked a debate whether the former can be made a multi-member body equipped with the power of arbitration on the financial administration of the Government and PAC can be protected from acting on party lines. The author wistfully responds thus: “So long as Parliament continues to secure accountability of the executive and the Government remains responsive to the urges and express feelings of the nation, Parliament will not be a mere seal and signature of democracy but the sheet anchor and the crucible.”(IPA Service)