When a legislature has an overwhelmingly dominant number from one single political party, the responsibilities of the “few” in the Opposition are significantly enhanced.
There are two probable effects of the brute supremacy (as distinct from majority) of a single political party. First, the ruling party tends to be insensitive and self-opinionated in its responses and decisions. Secondly, the efficacy and relevance of the legislature is visibly reduced. Both the features are not conducive to balanced democratic governance. An ignored and uncared-for dissent is of no consequence to the process of decision-making.
Conduct and functioning of the legislative process are rendered ritualistic. Nominal and symbolic compliance of the need for summoning the legislature tends to become a convenient practice. This inevitably results in reduced public accountability and increased arbitrariness on the part of the ruling executive. The representatives of the people, in such a situation, hardly debate the policies and programmes of the government. Their contribution in the context of governance becomes less meaningful and constructive. Obstructionist and unruly conduct replaces responsible and participating involvement in the functioning of the legislature.
The above scenario looks to be familiar in the context of governance and the efficacy of the legislature in Odisha. This trend will continue to perpetuate and demonstrate itself in a more intensive manner in the coming years.
When public accountability through the legislature is weakened and is less effective, there is every reason for public concern. The citizen must wake up to the glaring truth that the democratic process is less efficient and effective. The handful constituting “the opposition” tends to fail in the discharge of their legislative duties and obligations. The executive aggressively dominates and the legislature increasingly limps and defaults.
Under such an unusual and undesirable situation, the saviours can only be found in a responsive judiciary and an ever vigilant media. A greater and more interventionist and participatory role on the part of the above two pillars of democracy becomes the greatest necessity of the hour. The quality of the future years of the democratic fabric depends on the alertness and efficacy of these two vital organs.
The mining scam and the chit fund scam in Odisha flourished over a decade. There were sufficient visible indicators for the local media to investigate into them and expose them. In the case of the former scam, the international boom, the corresponding intensive activities in the mining areas and its visible ramifications in other related activities like over-excavation, lack of regulatory clearances, large-scale storage, transportation, etc., were not investigated into by the media in due time.
In the case of the latter, the ever-increasing activities of the chit fund operators and their agents, the warnings of the RBI to scrutinise and stop such illegal activities (circulated to all police stations), the patronage of the registering and regulatory authorities and their negligent inactions were conveniently not taken note of or investigated into for more than a decade.
The offices of the chit fund bosses were inaugurated and operated with fanfare in the area under the Commissionerate of Police. The inter-State and international ramifications were ignored till the money was laundered out. The demonstrative conspicuous consumption of the chit fund bosses attracted no prying eye. Advertisement revenue, alluring benefits, celebrations with fanfare and glorified publicity became the opiate blurring the vision of the media and other investigators. Persons probing and unearthing the ugly hidden facts were threatened and hounded.
The intervention of the Supreme Court in the cases of both the chit fund and mining scams at last brought some rays of hope in the hitherto thickening dark clouds. This, however, is not very reassuring to the plundered common man and is not sufficiently protective of our national wealth. There is a crying need of the politicians’ pocket-media to rid itself of the self-induced and motivated ostrich-like self-negation. The crying call of their duty to the society (that bestows abundant honour on them) is to put their spotlights on the gaping potholes still corroding our social fabric. Would they wake up before it is too lateIJ There are only a few who can garner preliminary material and knock at the doors of the temple of justice and diligently pursue the probe to its logical conclusion. Approaching the judicial forum presupposes certain abilities and facilities. All our citizens are not endowed with these, and there is, therefore, a built-in handicap in the system. This is where the relevance and roles of genuine social activists are reaffirmed. They have to wake up and save their social fabric from being subjected to such vandalism. This inevitably requires a social awareness and the capability to face the challenges of the hour.
But the problem does not end there. The inevitable requirements of social engineering demand that the socio-political leadership acts as a catalyst to harbinger a dramatic change. The test of the political leadership lies in meeting this inevitable and unavoidable challenge. Unfortunately for us, there is no getting away from this stark truth. So far, we do not see any signals of any goal-oriented actions from the relevant and right quarters. And this definitely concerns us.
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor and a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)