Supreme Court of India gives a landmark judgement
on the PMO. Not on the Prime Minister himself!
Future historians would decide what this landmark judgement has for the evolution of democratic practices in India.
Will India become a role model for democracies in Asia and the Third World?
Just now I read in The Economist magazine an article on Japan.
It opens with the line: It is rare in Japan to find one bold political leader, and even rarer to find two! May be the same line can be used to start a similar article on the state of public opinion and media comment in India. Inside India there is a sort of conspiracy of silence on the sort of politics that is pursued and promoted by the Congress party.
No vision, no principles but just only one interest and one goal. How to put Rahul Gandhi, son of Sonia Gandhi in the Prime Minister’s chair in New Delhi. As soon as possible. But certainly in 2014, when the next general election takes place.
Dr.Manmohan Singh is a highly learned person. He had spent long years in UK. Even if he is not a student of politics or social sciences(PPE) he studied in England and even he became Prime Minister he must have taken lots of inputs from many, not necessarily from his peers from other countries but also from his own introspections.
India is world’s largest democracy. As such India is seen by other nations, not only in the West, developed and developing nations in the Third World countries, even from Asian neighbours, in South East Asia, everywhere Indian would be seen as a role model in practising democracy.
In Parliamentary democracy we have followed the Westminster model of Parliamentary Democracy.
India must have followed (actually, we are in fact following, I believe) in such great British traditions of practising democracy.
There is a long history of British Parliamentary traditions.
So, why such a learned person like Dr.Singh didn’t talk or say he believes in such Parliamentary practices. He never for once had talked of the importance of the best democratic practices. He from the very beginning is an example of violating the democratic norms. From the nomination to the Rajya Sabha to other working practices. He never for once made Parliament as his arbiter in democratic norms. Even countries like Sri Lanka and Pakistan practice or say they practise the Westminster model.
The very member of Commonwealth is an example our commitment to British traditions, conventions and practices.
But here we see the PM failing on every count. He openly talks of vacating his post in favour of Rahul Gandhi!
Is this his way of a role model?
Or, is he violating the basic principles in promoting a dynastic succession that is very repugnant to every democratic principle and practice.
So, Indian democracy is not protected and promoted under the current dispensation of power-wielders in New Delhi.
China, a supposedly Communist dictatorship, is even planning a succession much in advance and the successors are named and prepared to take over.
These are all troubling questions for any genuine democrat and Parliamentarian.
Indians must do much introspection and try to correct the errors that have crept into our democratic system.
The one redeeming feature of the Indian Today Nation Mood public opinion poll comes as near as possible to express the peoples’ disappointment with the Manmohan Singh government. Let us hope the next election would affect some basic corrections under the new government.