India became a full-fledged nation in the year 1947 after centuries of alien rule and adopted a parliamentary form of government. The Constitution of India provided for almost all the provisions in great detail so that the country could be governed as per the rule of law. Along with provisions, certain offices and institutions were created so that the rule of law could be maintained in the best impartial and neutral way. The President of India, the Vice-President of India, the Speaker of Lok Sabha, the Governors of states, the Supreme Court of India and the Election Commission of India are such offices and institutions which enjoy the special status of the Constitution and are supposed to stand above politics while carrying out their duties. But in recent times it has been seen that they are not only being dragged into politics but controversies are also surrounding them.
What is surprising is the fact that when constitutional provisions are clear-cut regarding their powers and functions, in the political circles, media and social media they still get highlighted thereby making things confused and jumbled up. In the context of headlines and controversies let us analyse the jurisdiction of the offices and their actual position in the light of the constitutional provisions:
1) The President of India
The President of India is the topmost executive authority in the country and he or she is the first citizen. The President of India is elected by both the houses of Parliament and the state and UT legislatures. He or she is supposed to be apolitical once elected to the post, irrespective of his party affiliations. Though vested with extensive powers like executive, legislative, judicial, emergency and discretionary, the President is supposed to act as a nominal or ceremonial head since India has adopted a parliamentary form of government unlike America. Even Dr B.R. Ambedkar, after framing the Constitution, had expressed his concern over the actual status of the President and the misutilisation of powers in wrong hands.
But the functioning of democracy since independence has shown that Presidents have preferred to confine themselves to their constitutional status leaving things to be sorted out by the Prime Minister and his team. It is not that there have not been differences of opinion between Presidents and Prime Ministers on major issues, but they have preferred to sort out things lest their differences should set bad examples for the future. So keeping in view the actual position of the President, the media, social media and politicians should not drag him or her into controversies on petty issues. The President also should act as per his or her conscience and co-operate with the government, at the same time getting due respect from the politicians forming the government.
2) The Vice-President of India
The Vice-President of India is another important dignitary and occupies the number two position after the President. He is elected by both the houses of Parliament and normally acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He acts as the President of India in his absence enjoying all his powers, salary, allowances etc. He is also supposed to act in a non-partisan manner once elected to the post.
But in recent times the post has come to the limelight in government and media circles. The social media being active as it is today has also come out with stories about his behaviour and position. Stories about his resignation on health grounds, under pressure from the government, and his acting in a biased manner siding with the opposition, making political statements on judiciary and central ministers have made rounds thereby dragging the post into controversies.
The Vice-President, being seasoned, educated and intelligent, should be sensible and confine himself to his status. He does not belong to the ruling party or the opposition. Even if he behaves irrationally and crosses his limit, he cannot be asked by anybody to resign as it has been alleged. There is proper constitutional procedure for his impeachment. It is up to the incumbent and the government to maintain the dignity of such a constitutional post.
3) The Speaker of Lok Sabha
The Speaker of Lok Sabha plays a pivotal role in the Indian political system. He is the leader of the lower house of Parliament consisting of directly elected representatives. He is either elected unanimously in case of a single candidate or through an election in case of more than one contestant by a majority of the members of the house. He continues as long as the house continues and can be impeached by a majority of the members of the house.
His position ranks sixth in the Indian political system and is equivalent to that of a central cabinet minister. He is supreme in the Lok Sabha and addressed with honour even by the Prime Minister and other ministers when present in the house. He conducts the proceedings in the house, puts his signature on bills passed by the house and decides whether a bill is a money bill or not. He maintains discipline in the house and can even expel a member on grounds of indiscipline and unruly behaviour. He presides over joint meetings of both the houses of Parliament and can cast a vote in case of a tie.
Though a candidate for the post of Speaker cannot help being a politician or having party affiliations, he should stand above politics once elected to the post and be fair to both the ruling party and the opposition. It is seen that since the Speaker owes his origin to a political party, he gets biased towards it and this often irritates the opposition. Senior politicians with a clean record being a consensus candidate by both the ruling party and the opposition may solve much of the problem.
So the ruling party with majority in the house, instead of insisting on its candidate, should go in for a consensus candidate with the opposition for honour to the post and discipline in the house. But it is seen that politics and controversy have often centred around the Speaker which is far from being good for Indian democracy.
4) The Governors of States
In a federation like India, though the Governor plays a pivotal role, his appointment in a state by the centre is often considered to be a trait of the unitary spirit of the Indian Constitution. It is often argued that the Indian Constitution is federal in form but unitary in spirit, which is justified on the ground of an integrated and unified nation.
The Governor of a state is appointed and dismissed by the President of India. He can also submit his resignation to the President of India. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers, summons and dissolves the state legislative assembly, acts as Chancellor of most universities in the state, promulgates ordinances during the recess of the state legislature, gives assent to bills passed by the state legislature and appoints top officials like the Advocate General, the State Election Commissioner, the Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission and Vice-Chancellors of certain universities in the state.
Moreover, he can exercise his discretion at the time of inviting a political party to form the government, report to the President about constitutional breakdown in the state and reserve bills for the consideration of the President in national interests. On these three grounds, the role of the Governor has often created disputes and he gets alleged to be acting on the advice of the centre. Recently, the point of reserving bills for the President and the time frame for its return has stirred up quite a controversy having also been referred to the Supreme Court.
The state legislature consisting of elected members passing a bill and the Governor and President returning it at the earliest convenience with or without recommendations is more important than whether the Constitution or the Supreme Court has fixed any time frame for it. Once appointed to the post, the Governor should stay away from party affiliations and act as per his conscience in a non-partisan manner.
views expressed are the writer’s own)
Mr. Prafulla Kumar Majhi,
Retired Asst. Director, A. I. R, is an eminent Scholar and freelance writer in English & Odia. His areas of interests are sociocultural, economic, literary, historical and analytical studies and writings.
Email: airprafulla61@gmail.com
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