Drama, walkouts, and name-calling in Parliament grab headlines—but what lies beneath the spectacle? This citizen’s appraisal of the 2024 Winter Session reveals the stark contrast between parliamentary theatrics and the unaddressed realities of poverty, inequality, and political powerlessness. Are our representatives truly serving the people, or has democracy become a mere charade?
According to a press release of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs posted on the internet, the Winter Session of the Parliament adjourned sine die on 20th December 2024 after having commenced on 25th of November 2024. It notes that there were 20 sittings of the Lok Sabha and 19 sittings of the Rajya Sabha. During the session 4 Bills were passed by the former and 3 by the latter and one Bill by both Houses.
During the session of the Parliament there were numerous reports of pandemonium in the Houses, of disruptions and Opposition walk-outs, of contentious discussions between the Treasury Benches and the Opposition Benches and name calling. Much was made out of divisions over various historical personalities and their role during the Freedom Struggle and after, and what place could or should be accorded to them in history. Most of these matters have been referred to main stream media as `polarising’ and there has been a blame game. These are all matters that have been reported at great length and various talking heads and reporters have held forth. An incident towards the end of session involved the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Rahul Gandhi, who is said to have man-handled a fellow MP who was admitted to hospital.
A lot has been said and written about the above. But all of that hides certain important facts about the prevailing method of rule in the country. The General Elections took place earlier in 2024. But are those who got elected really serving the interests of those who elected them? For sure, the major political parties who gave them “tickets” to contest on their symbols ensure through the “whip” and various other means that those who elected do toe the line of the party.
While all the drama mentioned above goes on, there is “business as usual”. The super-rich, so-called “vested interests” continue to get wealthier each day, Bills are drafted in boardrooms and directed by the same `vested interests’ who funded the election campaigns of the major parties, The super-rich seem to have a well-oiled machinery to ensure that whatever is enacted by the parliament or carried out by the cabinet, the “executive”, is very much in their interests. This alone explains why, after more than seven decades of parliamentary democracy, wherein the legislators are supposed to carry out the will of “the people”, abject poverty and extreme income and asset disparity characterise India. This alone explains why the super-rich have not only seen their assets grow several hundred-fold in the last seven decades, but also the share of wealth owned and controlled by the top 1% and top 5% of the population has increased so rapidly.
Coming back to the winter session of the parliament or in fact the last few sessions of parliament. There’s a lot of wrangling and posturing and showing off on the part of the honourable members. Ruling parties and opposition parties pose as if they are the true saviours of the people. But there are hardly any debates worthy of note on bills presented! In other words, the passage of bills for most part are a fait accompli. There is not even a semblance of democracy in the processes! No important issue that faces the people such as employment, education, healthcare, prices, or welfare are even raised in Parliament. Or at least not to any perceptible effect.
We could perhaps go so far as to say that both the ruling and the opposition coalitions are not only merely posing as if they are saviours of the people. The manner in which real issues are not even raised, let alone discussed, leads us to believe that they are in fact working in concert, hand in hand, colluding with each other while posing as if they are opposed to each other. They wish to create the impression that parliament is an institution which takes care of the interests of the vast majority of the people, not of the super-rich who bankroll the major political parties and their election expenses and more.
Today, parliament and government stand above the people and do not see the need for any kind of accountability. In this respect, they are really no different from the British Colonial government, whose avowed purpose was to rule the country for the sole benefit of the colonisers. The people of the country, the electorate, who are supposed to be the rulers, are in fact politically powerless. The only “right” which the electorate has is to press a button once in 5 years in the elections that take place for the Parliament, State Assemblies and local bodies like municipalities.
If the people were in fact holding political power, then it would not be the political parties which would hand out ‘tickets’ for candidates to contest from the various constituencies. It would be the people of the constituency who would collectively select candidates who, in their view, are worthy of being candidates for election from their constituency. The right to select candidates would be with the people, not political parties. In fact, this is an important right which ought to be vested with the people.
If the people were in fact sovereign, then they would have the right to initiate legislation. Today this right is the prerogative of parliament and in fact the executive, the cabinet. The right to initiate legislation should in fact be vested with the people if the people are to become the masters of their destiny.
Today, ministers, legislators and even government officials behave as if they are totally privileged. Members of parliament and state legislatures have voted on and given themselves lifelong pensions for the “service” of “representing” the people! This, when the vast majority of the people are living in poverty and do not have access to health and education! If people are to be empowered, then their representatives should not have any special privileges. The representatives should get wages for their work just like all the other working people of the land.
Today, the ‘representatives’ elected by the people have absolutely no accountability towards the people who elected them. They could abscond for years on end, or worse, even work for the interests of the super-rich and against the interests of the people who actually elected them. To ensure accountability, it is essential that the right to recall be recognised and enabled through appropriate mechanisms.
The charade of India’s “parliamentary democracy” is there for everyone to see. The question is, how can the people end this pathetic situation where they are totally deprived of political power? For this, it is necessary that all forces interested in the future of India and its people must urgently take up the task of identifying and solving the problems that face the country. We must fight on the one hand for concrete measures to ensure that people have control on their representatives, such as those listed above. In other words, we must fight for political power to be actually vested in the hands of the people. Only this can ensure that parliament and all institutions actually work for the welfare of the common people instead of the superrich who dominate the polity today.
by BA and Venkatesh Sundaram