leaders of the new BJP-led NDA regime will have to hit the ground running. From fulfilling the many promises they made during the campaign to restoring the dignity of Parliament, there is a lot of work that has to be done
India’s 16th lok Sabha will be constituted by May 20. The electoral landscape has undergone far-reaching changes. An important and positive development is the space granted to civil society in opinion making. It has changed the tone of the political establishment which now loudly claim that its electoral commitments are primarily for the good of the common man.
Civil society has been vocal about the need for electoral reform. It has aggressively campaigned to cleanse the Aegean stables of electoral politics. The sophisticated technology now available is a potent enabler for reaching out to every nook and corner of the country. Holograms, internet-mediated interactive sessions, in combination with traditional news media channels has brought the election to the doorsteps of the voter. The print media has now penetrated deep among the masses and thus the fourth pillar of democracy is justifying its role.
But this phenomenon has some negative overtones as well. The campaign has mostly revolved around personalities, and personalised comments have over-shadowed any meaningful discussion on the key issues facing the country. Unfortunately, the campaign has neither been a pure presidential type nor has it been reflective of a party-led parliamentary form.
Political parties should present the programme while seeking the voters’ mandate. Unfortunately, the distinction was blurred in this election as there were plethora of unsubstantiated personal accusations. Potential for success and failure in the campaign narrowed to a few key leaders. The implicit danger in this is that the citizens’ preference for day-to-day living and indulging in the pleasure of the moment was exploited by political leaders without any qualms about accountability.
The most serious challenge is regarding the legislative function of Parliament. The last Parliament was the most unproductive in terms of the number of Bills passed and the time it spent in addressing various national issues. Parliament’s loss of dignity as well the damage done to the reputation of its members needs to be reversed.
The entire political class is responsible for bringing down parliamentary standards. It will be a herculean task for the next Government to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament. Appearance in the well of the House to draw the attention of the Presiding Officer was used as a lethal weapon to injure democracy. The lessons learnt may not be easily forgotten. Perhaps, the Standing Committees may meet more frequently to make up for the time lost.
The next Government will also face the challenge of curbing corruption, incentivising growth and development, generating employment opportunities and checking inflationary pressures. These are issues of national importance, and a national consensus must emerge for their successful handling. Unfortunately, the election campaign has only de-stabilised a fractured polity through false statements and propagation of misplaced apprehension of security within our social grouping.
There is another major challenge: Centre-State cooperation. Different political parties control the States and they may not see eye to eye with Central Government priorities. Often national issues are subordinated to factional politics. Our relationships with our neighbours is a telling example of how the States have negatively influenced the foreign policy of the country, which should exclusively have been in the domain of the Union Government.
The compulsion of coalition politics, played out by an extremely weak Central leadership, has weakened the country’s manoeuvrability in promoting friendly relations with neighbours. There are serious issues of internal security and also developmental priorities which have taken gigantic proportions as a problem due to strains in Centre-State relations.
Maoist movements, effective legislation against terrorism and the suicidal slowdown in the execution of infrastructural projects are glaring examples of missing dialogues. A beginning can be made by delegating more powers to the States, higher devolution of funds, and institutional mechanism for effective dialogue.
The success of the new Government will largely depend on how sincerely it tackles the basic issues which, till now, have been handled as a confrontation. Parliament has to return to the business of legislation. The role of MPs is not to agitate outside Parliament. More the deliberations within Parliament, the better will be the essence of political cooperation. Once again, the initiative will be in the hands of the ruling party.
Fortunately, the judiciary, the regulatory institutions and a pro-active civil society have functioned as a watchdog at critical moments and their pro-active interventions have led to mid-term corrections. It must be remembered that the Government will be on probation as its performance will be critically tracked by a vibrant civil society and media.
(The writer is former Secretary to Government of India and Director, Public Interest Foundation)