Political Diary

New Delhi, 30 April 2011

Mocking Parliament Again

PARTISAN POLITICS PLAYS HAVOC

By Poonam I Kaushish

From a ‘mock’ Parliamentary monsoon session last year to a ‘mock’ Public Accounts Committee meeting on Thursday last. Indeed, India’s high temple of democracy is slowly but steadily reaching its nadir, if it already hasn’t hit rock bottom. The tragedy of it all is that there was no sense of shame or remorse, instead our Right Honourables reveled in their garam-garam teekha-teekha dadagiri!

Call it de ja vu or what you may, but the unprecedented mayhem that took place during the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting looking into the infamous Rs 1.76 lakh crore 2G Raja spectrum scam chaired by BJP’s senior Lok Sabha MP Murli Manohar Joshi was recklessly disgusting. It had all the mirch-masala of a third-grade Bollywood pot-boiler: heated arguments, accusations and abuses, adjournments and walk-out. Even 'expulsion' of Chairman Joshi by UPA MPs and supporting parties,

It all started with the “leakage” of the PAC’s 271-page interim report with 64 additional documents  which indicted the Prime Minister, his Office and the then Finance Minister Chidambaram. It squarely blamed Manmohan Singh’s desire to keep the PMO at arm’s length indirectly helped the telecom minister to go ahead and execute his unfair, arbitrary and dubious designs. On the PMO, the report stated: “Is it not the duty of the PMO or Cabinet Secretariat to enforce Cabinet decisions…who else is entrusted with this responsibility?”

This is not all. It slammed Chidambaram for “acknowledging spectrum was scare but made a unique and condescending suggestion that the matter be treated as closed. This must be probed; he must explain to the nation reasons for such an unusual act.” Predictably this led to a vicious tu-tu-mein-mein. While the Opposition accused the Treasury Benches of turning the PAC into a “joke”, UPA Right Honourables charged the BJP-Left of “being opportunists.”

Amidst the war of words, while Joshi avers he “adjourned” the meeting, Congress MPs state that he and Opposition MPs “walked” out. Seizing the moment, the Congress-DMK brigade with the help of two Samajwadi and BSP MPs ‘elected’ Congress’s Rajya Sabha Saifuddin Soz as the PAC’s new Chairman and rejected the report. Never mind if it trashed the convention of having a Lok Sabha MP as the Committee’s Chairman and trampled on Treasury-Opposition civility in Parliament. Also forgotten, were the implications their behaviour would have per se on the committee system as a whole.

Arguably, even if allegations of the report being leaked are true, it is still no reason to reject the report in its entirety. Besides, if MPs felt that there views were not being accommodated they could have appended a dissent note. Specially as everything was going fine till Joshi summoned PMO officials, Cabinet Secretary and the Attorney General to question their role. Why the turn-around?

Sadly, the issue has moved from the 2G Raja swindle to whether the interim draft report technically is valid as 11 of the 21 MPs had rejected it. Along-with allegation of the report being “outsourced.” Clearly, exposing that our polity is not only non-serious about corruption but also unable to get away from narrow partisan concerns. The two SP-BSP help-on-demand votes says it all. Undoubtedly, this has to do with the CBI taking ‘a lenient’ view before the court’s in corruption cases against them.

The travesty of law is apparent. Till the washed-out winter session, UPA 2 was gung ho about a Public Accounts Committee to unravel the scandal instead of constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee. No less than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted, “The PAC is a joint Parliamentary committee presided over by a very senior member of the Opposition. I am willing to appear before it.” And Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee even offered Joshi-headed PAC, “almost permanent JPC, assistance of a multi-disciplinary investigative agency.”

Particularly, against the backdrop that the PAC is a Committee of long lineage. It was first set up during British Raj in 1921 post the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms and was headed by the Executive Council’s Finance Member. From 1947-49 during the Interim Government the PAC was chaired by the Finance Minister.

It was only on 26 January 1950 when the Indian Constitution came into force that the PAC underwent a radical change. Whereby, it became a Parliamentary Committee functioning under the control of the Speaker with a non-official Chairman appointed from among the Members of Lok Sabha elected to the Committee and the Finance Minister ceased to be its member.

Till 1955 the PAC constituted every year, comprised 15 elected Lok Sabha MPs. This was increased to 22 MPs, 15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha on a proportional Party representation basis. Till 1966-67, a senior member of the ruling Party used to be its Chairman, appointed by the Speaker.  This subsequently changed wherein a Lok Sabha Opposition MP was appointed Chairman.  This practice continues till date.  A Minister is not elected a member of the Committee 

Importantly, what makes the PAC different from other Parliamentary Committee’s is that its functions extent “beyond the formality of expenditure to its wisdom, faithfulness and economy”.  The Committee thus examines cases involving losses, nugatory expenditure and financial irregularities. 

When any case of proved negligence resulting in loss or extravagance is brought to the Committee’s notice, it asks the Ministry/Department concerned to explain what action, disciplinary or otherwise, it had taken to prevent a recurrence.  In such a case it can also record its opinion in the form of disapproval or pass strictures against the extravagance, lack of proper control or waste in carrying out a policy by the Ministry or Department concerned. 

Importantly, since then the PAC has served as a strong watchdog on Government finances. Given that Executive accountability to the Legislature is the sine qua non of our Parliamentary system.  Also, it serves as a mechanism to nurture healthy give-and-take working relations between the Treasury and Opposition MPs so vital in Parliament’s functioning. Whereby, MPs transcend into one whole beyond being just Parties/ coalition numbers.

What next? True, the Joshi-led PAC’s tenure ended on Sunday. Yet all eyes are on the report. The PAC rules allow the Chairman to present the report after conclusion of discussions and circulation of the report among panel members to the Lok Sabha Speaker. What could strengthen Joshi’s hands is a precedent set by former PAC Chief Buta Singh. In 2004, Buta Singh tabled a report on the coffin scam without even perfunctory discussions with Committee members. All eyes are on how Speaker Meira Kumar responds to the report.  

Either way, the sharp battle lines between the Treasury and Opposition Benches have been re-drawn and cemented by the PAC fiasco. This will only further devalue Parliament and lower the image of our already bhrasht netagan. If this is the fate of the PAC report, the aam aadmi will have no trust that the JPC would succeed in unravelling the mystery behind the Rs.1.76 lakh crore swindle.

Clearly all is not lost. Our leaders can still redeem themselves in the public eyes by taking up the gauntlet against corruption by taking some decisive and transparent action. Already, a Government-civil society is in the motion of drafting a Jan Lokpal Bill. Else we will be back to square one: Chaos ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)