Introduction

India became a full fledged international persona-

11ty on tile 15th oi' August, 1947. As a prelude to independ­

ence, the interim Goverment was formed on September 2 1 1946.

'.the fathers or the Indian Constitution conceived of

a Constituent Asoembly as s ornetlling dynamic, not lllerely a

body or representat1ves 1 but a natlon on tile move, it was

not only to produce a Constitution for tile country, but to

tl;lrcw a-way "the spell or lts past polltlcal and possibly

soc1al structure, and i'asllioning !or itself a new Government 1

of lts a.in making".

lvor Jennings has noted three situations in wllich a

Constituent Assembly comes lnto belnga when there is "a great

social revolution" or "when a nation thrown orr lts foreign

yoke" or when "a nation is created by the fusion or smaller

polltlcal units. Whatever the clrcumst ances, Jennings points

out "the need is felt and s o:ne person ls set to draft a

Constltutlon".2 rile Indian Constituent Assembly, according

to this view, falls into the second category. Its task was

mainly to put an end to tile .tlrltlsll rule in India and to est­

ablish an independent Republic or Ind1e..

1

The Assembly took two years, eleven months and sev­

enteen days to complete its labour, from December t~, 1946 to

november 26, 1949. During this period it helds eleven sessl­

ons and its total worltlng days numberE-d one hundred and slxty­

flve.

On 'tovember 26 1 194~, thll Presidt>nt authentlcated

the ncv Constitution of India, thereby fringing 1t into rorce

in accordnnce with its provisions. Actually, only a few

provisions came into force on that day- those relating to

cltlzenshlp and n few other formal articles. 'l'b.e Republic

or India establbned by tne Co!'lstltution cnme lnto being on

January 26, 1950; a.o'l.d on that day the Constituent Assembly

ceased to exist, transforming itself into tne Provisional

l'arl1ament of' India - untll the new Parll&ment was set up

under adult suf'rrage in 1952. 'l'he past decade in world

hlstory has been n sad history or repeated !allures of dea­

ocracy in the newly emerging nation - States, especially in

Asia a.'ld Africa. But this does not warrant tile conclusion

that democracy is unsuitable to their peoples, for two rea­

sons, first, a democratic system or Government 1s not inborn

ln any society, it ls a product or cultivation. 'l'he recent

history or the nations of the Western Europe shws that it

is none too easy to work even among the more politically

mature and econor.1ically advanced people. To t'unetlon eff­

ectively a democratic Government requires a corresponding

pattern or society and a way o! ll!e, both or whieh assume

certain 'moral foundations 1 • 'l'he new nation of Asia and

Africa, only too recently released from their independence

2

on colonial powers, have yet to develop democratic outlook

and social rram01o1ork, takes time. In the case or the older

western nations, it took 1:1any centuries. set-baclts are

th.arerore inevitable 1n the process or the growth. towards

de:nocracy ln these new nations. Secondly, 1t sh.ould be brone

in mind 1n 111any or these States, the new pol1tloal organizat­

ion wns not ln fact democratic. What, rallt!d then, was not

det!loeraoy os sucn but certain f'xternnl ror::ts ot' de:nocrntic

institutions 1 which are not suitably adopted.

A democratic Government 1s not only gooi Government 1

but also self Government, Indeed no Government can be consid­

ered good unless lt recognises that man is essentially a

responsible being and glves opportunities for expressing it.

Only that form of Government can be considered truly democr­

atic whlcll offers an opportunity for all who are governed to

participate ln the Governme~t through the i"ree exercise or their res ponsl.biltty.

~Ills approach should dispel the popular misconcep­

tion that democracy means the rule of the majority, Such a

view 1s responsible for a dangerous claim ttlnt a dictatorship

of proletariat is also democracy, because in our industra.U­

sed society wage earner numerically constitute almost a per­

manent majority. ~his fallacy would make or democracy not a

common politl.cal ldea but a class doctrine. Moreover, majo­

rity in any country is more than likely to be poll.tlcally

unlnrormed. Thus democracy may in fact turn out to be the

Government of the ignorant mob and this is the basis of the

attack from tile sl.de of the Right which wants to maintal.n

Government as the responsibility exeluslvelr or an aristo­

cracy or property or intellect. Any GovE>rnmental system

which does not provide for all sections of society to share

its functioning is certain sooner or later to be perverted

by those learn to manipulate the machlnerr oi" Government !or

their own a elfish ends.

In parlla:nentnry decocrncy a full and free discuss­

ion of an lssue takes plncE' before nny polltlcnl declsion on

3

it 1s made, on atleast three separate levels - on the Gove­

rnmental level, in the Parliament and in the many c omrnon

forums. Where there 1s freedom of public opinion, safe­

guarded by an impartial Judiciary, tb.e public debate goes

on through press and platform in ma."ly more or less organis­

ed forms. At the end it comes to division. Tb.e debate 1s

more important than division, tor it Ls tb.e former that

mnlces i'or:nulatlon and exchange or ideas possible. It

offers opportu.'lity ror free expression or diverse views and

gives scope of pursuatlon, acco111odation and compromise. It

thus makes possible a Government by disaussion - a process

in which the spokes man or the minority also argues, demands

and makes compromises just like the spokesaan of tb.e major­

ity. Thus parliamentary democracy makes Government "the

rule of the people as a whole. •3

Democracy is a Government by discussion and consent,

In it, the people are the rinal arbiter or political author­

ity. A democratic political system should provide adequate

opportunities ror the people to discuss poUtieal issues

and express their ~1ll on them. The press, public meetings

and the Parliament are some or the 1nst1tut1ons through

111hlch public opln1on rinds expression. These have a conti­

nious lire. ,!jut eleotions are the occasions when the people

exercise their right to clloase their Government and there by

express their opinlcn deolsively. Thls ls the methcxl by

wllich people choose thelr representatives who wlll form the

legislative bcxlies in the States and tile Centre !or n per1cxl

norll1ally !or the noxt five years. Thl'l Government Ln power

1s !or!lled by thP party o o:::l:la'\ding n major it. y ln the legla la-

ture. Xtlough, election, therefore, the people cnoose the

Govornment they wnnt. Xlle sense or res pons ib1lity with

which men and wo::~en exercise their right of vote wlll det­

ermine the quality or Government they return. In a demo­

cr!lcy, more than in any otner poU.tical system, the people

get the Govornmant they des1re.4

The Constitution o! India, republican and f'ederal

in character, embodies the silent featurl:'s or the parliam­

entary system. It provides !or Parliament !or tne Union

consisting or the President and two Houst>s, namely, Rajya

Sabba ( COl.L'lcil of States ) a..''ld Lolt l>nbha { House of tne

People), tn which l..ok Sabha nas supremacy 1n r1na.'lc1al mat­

ters; a Unton exeeuttveo drm~n from both Houses or ParU.ament

nnd collectively respons1ble to Lolt-Sabha, ensuring thereby

an intimate relationship between the Union exeouttve and

Parliament; a number or States wltll baslo provisions parallel

to those for tile Union in respect or the executives and leg•

islatures or the statesJ a head or tile state called the

President or India acting with the aid and the ad vlce or tne

IInion Council or HlnistersJ rule or law; independent . judlcl­

ary and a civil service, anonymous and polltlcally independ­

ent. · l'he Parliament in India ls not a soverign bod.y-uneont­

rolled n..l"ld with. Ut'l.llmited powers ln the same sense as the

British Pnrliament ls • It functions within the bounds o! a

written Constitution.

Under the Co!'U!tltutlon, thP executive pC7oier or thP

Union hns been VPsted in the Presldent, to be exercised by

him elthPr directly or tllroug~ officers subor1inah to hl:t.5

Xllere is tbe Counc:Ll or Hinisters t wS.th tho Prime Min1ater

at the head, to ald and advise the President. In actual

practice it ls the Council or Hlnisters and not the Presid­

ent llhich bears the res pons lbll1ty ror governmental act!. on.

As Dr. Alexandrowlcz observes a ".But 1'ollaw1ng a centuries

old tradition the formal position is that the King, who had

gradually lost legislative, Judicial and rlnelly executive

power, is still the supreme rormal agency ln whose name act­

ion is taken. This was oxaotly what in-corporated mutnt1s

mutndls in article 74(1) by making the President such an

agency without stating expressly that the advice or the Min-,.

istry is blnding."0

Thls point was very clearly elucidated by several

members in the Constituent Assembly. While introducing the

Draft Constitution as settled by the Draft Con~ittee, Dr.B.

R. Ambedkar observed, "Under the Drart Constltutlon the Pre­

sident occupies the s arne position as the King U!lder the

English Constitution. He is the Head or the State but not

or the Executive. He represents the ttation but does not

rule th.e 't-ht1.on • • • • • Th.e President of' th.e Indtan Union

will be generally bound by the advice or his Uinhters. He

can do nothing contrary to their advice; nor can do any­

thing without their advlce.•7 Dr. Alladi K. Ayyar observeda

" One point that has to be remembered in this CCY.lneetion

is that any power exercised by him on his own responsibili­

ty. The vord 'President' used ln the Constitution stands

!or the fnbrlc responsible to the Legislature." 8 Thia vlev

has also bt>en held by the SuprPme Court1 "Under nrttcle 63( l)

••• the executive power or the Union is vested in the Presi­

dent, but under article 75(c) there is to be a cou..ttc1l o!

Hln1sters wlth the Prlme Hinlster at the h.ead to aid. and.

advice th.e Presidemt tn the exercise or hls !unctions. Tne

President has thus been made a formal or constitutional head

or the executive powers are vested in the Mtnlsters or the

Cab1net~9 Article 35(3) says that the Council or :Unlsters,

under the Constf.tutton, is collectively responsible to Lok

Sabha only. Under article 85(1} the !'resident may su:n:non

each House of .Parliament to meet as such time and place as

thinks 1'1t, but in no case should the period tntervening

between its last sitting in the next session exceed six

months. The President may i'ro:n time to time prorogue the

House or either House or Parliament and dissolve Lok Sabha.

The proposal to summon, prorogue or dissolve Lok Sabha may

be made by the Pri~e !Unister with or without the consult­

at ton or the Cabinet.

At the commencement oi' the 1'1rst session after

each general election or Lok Sabha and corJ:nencernent of the

flrst session of each year the President addresses both

Houses or Parliament assembled to~ath~r and informs them of

the reasO!l.s ror its summoning. i:lesides the opening address,

tle may address either House or Parlla:nent or both Houses

assembled together, and for that purpose ree&ulre the attend•

ance oi' lllelllbers. He is also empCJtiered to send messages to

either House, whether with respect to a .i:11ll then ~ndlng

ln Parl1a111ent or otheJ:Vlse; and a House to whlch lila)" musage

1a so sent shall w lth all c onve'llent dl's patch c O'ls 1dC!r any

8

matter requS..red by tile message to be taken into consideration.

Tile prov!.sion i'or Address. by the Head oi' the State

to Parliament goes back to the year 1921 when the Central

Legislature was set up ror the rirst time under the Govern­

ment or India Act, 1919. Though there t.~as no specti'1c pro­

vision in the Act for the Governor-General's Address to both

the IIoll$es assembled togetb.er, in practice duri.ng the year

l92l to 194.6 the Governor General addressed. the lower House

separately as well as both the Houses assembled together on

a number of occasions. The Governor General dtd not Address

the Constituent Assembly on any oocasion during its e:dstence

rrom ~lovember 11147 to January 1950.

l:leing a statement oi' policy or the Government the

Address is drafted by the Government; 1t is not the Presid­

ent but the Government wnicn 1s respons1ble for the contents

or the Address. It contains the review of the activities and

achievements of the Governoont during the previous year and

1ts policy with regard to 1oportant internal and current

international proble:ns. It also contains a brier accou.'lt

or the progra111mes of Government business i'or the session.

On the days alloted ror dlscll$sion 1 the House 1s

at Uberty to dlscuss the matters referred to to in the

Address. 9 The only limitations are thnt members cannot refer

to matters which are not the direct responsibility of the

Governcent ot Indias 10 and that the name or President cannot

be brought in during the debnte 1 since the Gover~ment 1 and

not the President, is responsible !or the contents or the Address.ll .

I At the end the !'rime J.flnister replies to the debate

on President's Address. Arter the Prlme ainister has repl­

ied to the debate, the amendments that have been moved are

disposed -orr and th.e i-iot1on or Thanks put to the House.

Arte~ the Jo!ot1on is carried, it is conveyed to the Presid­

ent dlreet by the Speaker through a letter.

On May 14, 1954 1 Speaker I>favalanltar _announced that

the House of the people would thereafter be kna.1n as " Lok

Sabha". On Aug. 23 1 l954t the Chairman of th.e Upper House

announced a similar decesion changing the nallle of the Cou­

ncil of States to "Rnjya Sabh.a" fro:n the date.

Rajya Sablla consists of twelve members nominated by

tile President and not more than two hundred and thirty-eight

representat1ves of tile states and the Union territories. The

Hembers no:a1nated by the President c onslsts of persons hav­

ing special lma.1ledge or practical experience 1.n respect of

such ::~atter as literature, science, art and soolal service.

The object of having a second Chamber in the United

Stntes, was professedly to cheek the popular Cha:nber and, in

thls, the American Senate has well succeeded. The Engllsll

Houze of Lords 1s na.1 the only second Chamber amongst tile

knam Coostltution of the world which contains a major here­

d1.tary elements.

l'he framers or our Const1tut1on h.ave combined cert­

ain reaturea or the Constitution or Eire nnd or South Af'r1ca

in providing for the COlllpos1.tion of the Upper Chaober of' the

Union Parliament. Tile pr1nc1ple oi' partial nom1nat1on 1s

intended to secure for dist1ngu1shed persons a place ln

10

the Upper Chamber. Election oi' the maJor portion oi' the

members by the State Assembl1es 1s intended to give a fed­

E>ral character. But the Ame>rlcan system of equallty ot

state representation is not f'ollC1tled, for the number of'

representat1ves of the states to our Council or States varles.

History has belled the radlcal vLew or th.e French. re­

volutl onary thinker Abbe Sleyes that -"I 1' a second Cha111ber

dissents from tne i'lrst, lt ls mS.Sch.levous J 11' lt agrees wltb.

the f1rst, lt ls s upertluous".

Rajya Sabh.a ls not subject to dlssolutlon, but as near­

ly as possible one tnlrd or lts mem'bers retire as soon as may

be on the explratlon or every second year ln accordance with.

the provlslon made ln tb.at betlalt' by ParU.ament by law.

Lolt Sabtla c onslsts or not core than 1'1 ve bundred mem­

bers ch.oosen by dlrect election from territorial constituen­

cies in tb.e States, and not more than twenty-the .members to

represent th.e Un1on terr1tor1es choosen 1n such. a manner as

Parliament by law provides.

The President 1s empowered ·lr he is or oplnlon that

tile Anglo Indlan Commu.'llty ls not adequately represented ln

the IIouse, to no:nlnate not more than two members ·of the com­

munity to Lolt Sabb.R.

For tbe purpose of election fro::~ territorial constlt­

uenc1es 1n the States, a number oi' seats are> nllottel1 to eoch

State ln Lok fiabha 1n such a e1anner that tb.tt rntlo bet..,et>n

'

that numuer and the populatl on of the State ls, so far as

practicable, the same for all States. Upon the co:upletlon

or each census, tho allocation or seats ln Lok Sabha to

11

the States and the d1vlslon of each Ztate into territorial

cO!'l.stltuencies are readjusted by such authority and in such. -

a ::tanner as .Parliament determines by law, but such readjust­

ment does not ntreet representation in Lok Sabha until the

dissolution or then existing House. Seats are reserved 1n

Lok Sabha for , (a) tile Scheduled Castes a (b) tile Sclledul­

ed Tribes; except those ln the tribal areas or Assam; and

(c) theo Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous dlstrlcts or

Assam.

l'he office of the Speaker, lmCMn as President tlll

1947, dates back to 1;}21, when the Central Uagislative Ass­

embly was i'or the i'irst time const1tuted under tb.e Montagu

Cb.emsrord Reforms. Previously it was the Governor General

or India wb.o used to preside over tb.e sittings or tb.e Uag­

lslative Council. "Confidence in the impartility of tb.e

Speaker,• says ~lay, " 1s an indispensable co~dltion or the

successful worltlng or procedure, and many conventions exist

wb.lcn have as their object not only to ensure tb.e Lm.partia­

llty of the Speaker but also to ensure that his 1mpnrtinl1-

ty is generally rPcognised." 12 In India, the Presiding

Officers folla.rs more or less the traditions and conventions

estnbllshed by tb.e speaker of the House of Co:n:noos. The

Presiding Officer hicselr kept aloot co:npletely fro~ party

pollt1cs.l3

12 Speaker, Havalankar on Hay 15, 1952, at the time ot

his election as Speaker of l..ok Snbha observeda "We have yet

to envolve pol1t1cal partles and healthy conventions about

Speakership, the principal or which is that once a Speaker,

he is not opposed by any party in the matter or hls election,

whether in the constituency or in the House, so long as . he

wishes to co~tlnue as a Speaker. To expect the Speaker to be

o11t or politics altogether without the corresponding convent­

ion is perhaps entertaining contradictary expectations ••••••

Though a Congressman it is my duty, it would be my duty and.

effort to deal witb. all members and sections or the Rouse

with justice and equality; and it would be my duty to be 1mp­

.art1al and remain above all considerations or party or or

pol1 t lc al career. w14

The all important conventional. and ceremonial head

ot' l..ok Sabba is the Speaker. W1tbin the ~1alls of the House

his authority is supreme. l'his autbority is based on the

Speala>r's absolute and utwary1ng impartiality- the main feat­

ure of his o!flce, tbe law o! its life.

Presantatlon of Budget:- In respect of every f'lnanoial year,

the President callSes to be laid before both HollSes of Parli-.

ament an "annual financial statement" or the estimated rece­

ipts and tile· expenditure or tbe Government of India. The

annual f1nanc1al statea~ent, otherwise known as tile 'Budget•,

11 presented in two parts viz., the Railway uudget perta1n-

1ng to Railway Finance, and the General Budget 'tlhich gives

an overall picture of the i'1nanc1al posLt1on o1' the Govt'rn­

ment or India, excluding the Ra1l.wnys. Tbe i3\rlget 1s pres­

ented to Lolc &abba on such day as tht' PrE>side:"tt directs. By

13 c onvent1on, the General .Budget ls presented on the last work­

lng day or :t'ebruary each year at 5 P. M. The General Budget

1s presented by the nnance Hlnlster. The Budget speech con­

sists or two parts. Part A dealing wlth the general economic

survey of the country. Part B containing the taxation propos­

als for the ensuring year. The Budget of tile Government or

India setsf'orth the receipts and expenditure of the Govern­

ment of Indta tor three consecutive years. It glve-s the act­

ual ror the preceding year, the revised estimates tor the

current year nnd the Budget estimates for tile ensuring year.

F'rom the presentation of the Budget to the passing of

the Appropriation and Ji'inance DUls giving effect to the Gov-, .

ernment•s expenditure and taxation proposals contained ln

the .t)udget, members get opportunity to di.scuss the financial

policies pursued by the Government during general discuss ion

on the Budget; discussion and voting on grants; considerat­

ion lllld passing of the Appropriation BUl s c onslderation

and passing or the Finance Bill. Whereas during the general

discussion on the .Budget the House 1s at liberty to discuss

the Budget as a whole or any question of principle involved

therein. During thE' general dlscosslon on the Budget; no

motion ls moved nor ls the Budget subtltted to the vote or

the House.

As per the Article 110{4) and Rules gG( 2) an1 l28( l)

1ncnse any quest! on arises whether a .Slll 1s a Money Blll or

not, the dec1s1on of the S;>enl:er to be a :Ioney Bill, he end­

orses a certlflcate thereon signed by him to the effect that

lt ls :·loney Ulll, before thP. !!lll 1s sent to RaJya Snbha or

presented to the President for assent.

14

A Money 131ll ann be introduced only 1n Lolt Sa'oha.

After it has been passed by .C..ok Sabha, it is transmitted to

Rajya Sabha for ita reeo:nmendat1ons and that !louse 1s, w1th-

1n a period or fourteen days from the date or the receipt or

the BUl, required to return the Bill to Lok Sabha with its

reeom.mendat1Dn 1 if any. There have been two stances wnen

Money Bills were returned by RaJya Sailha with recommendations.

In both the eases, the recommendation made by Ra;jya Sabha,

wb.lch were of formal nature, were accepted by Lolt Sabha. Re­

co:nmendat1on or President is required for the 1ntroduet1on

of a •·toney Bill. Where, however, a B1ll deals only with any

matter incidental to any or the matters specified in article

110, subclause (a) to (:r), recommendation or the President ls

not necessary for introduction or that lUll- as per tile article

117( l) or the c :>nstltution.

Proclamations:

The Constitution contemplates three types of elllergen­

cles and, correspondingly, three kinds of proclamations which

the !'resident can 1ssue: Proclatnation or e111ergeney arising out

ot war, external aggression or internal d1sturbances, 15Procla­

aation issued on the fllllure or the constitutional machinery 16

in the States; and Proclamation arising out or threat to fin-

ancial stablllty or credit of India. 17

If the President 1s satisfied that a grave elllergt>ncy

exists whereby the st'curity of India or any part of the tPrr­

ltory thereor is threatened, vllether by war or nggrt>ssion or

internal disturbances 1 he lllay, by procla1:1ntton, malte a decln-

ration to tllat effect. 1'he following .Procla:nnt1on wns issued

on October 25 1 1~2 and loid on the tAble or the ti ouse on "l ov-

15 ember s, 1962 t "Proclamation or Emergency 1n exercise or

the pa.iers con:Cerred by clause ( l) or article 352 or the

Constitution, I Sarvapalli Rodb.akrishnan, President or Indla,

by this Proclamation declare that a grave emergency exists

hereby the security or India is threatened by external aggr­

ession. S. Radhaltrishnan

President."

A Proclamation after it is issued has to be laid be­

fore encll House of' .Parllament and it ceases to operate at the

exp1.ration of two months unless before the expiration of that

period lt has been approved by resolutions or both Houses ot

Parliament. I! any such resolutlOI\ is ·issued at a time when

.i.ok s abha has been diss ol ved or dlss olut 1 on or the Lok S abha

takes place during the period or two months referred to above

and 1r a resolution approving the Proclamation has been pnss­

ed by RaJya Sabha, but no resolution with respect to such

Proclamation has been passed by Lok Sai:lha before the expirat­

ion period, the J'rocla:nat1on ceased to operate at tile exp1ra•

tion or tll1rt;r days treat the date on which Lok. Sablla first

sits art or its reo cmst1tution, u.'l.less before the expirat 1 on

of the period or thirty days a res olutl on approvlng the Pro­

clamation has been passed by Lok Snbha.

The Proclamation can also be revoked by the President

at any t1me by a subsequent Froclnmat1.on.18 While a Proclam­

ation or Emergency ls in operation, tile executive power or

the Unio:t extend to tile giving of directions to any State ns

to the ::tanner in which the executive pt7t1er thereof 1s to be

exercised' and the power or l-'arl1a'!lent to :nak.e lava, durinv;

th.e periOO. ot Emergency. Arter thl' Procln:nat1on of F.:torg-

enc:r was 1ssued on October 26, 1002, an Ordinance, called

1 r• 0

the De1'ence or lndla Ordinance, 1962, was pro:nulgated by the

President on the same date to provide for special meas11res

to ensure the publlc safety and intrest, The Ordlnanoe was

later replaced by Defence or India Act, 1962. It ls the duty

of the Unlon to ensure that the Government or every State is

carried on ln accordance with the provisions oi' the Constitu­

tion. 1 r the .Pres !dent' O!l l'E'Ceipt or a report f'ro:n the Gov­

ernor or State or otherw!se, ls satisfied that a situation

has arlsen ln which the Govl"rnment of the State cannot be car·

ried on in accordance with the prov1s1ons of the Constttuttcn,

the President may by Proclamation assume to himself all or

any or the runcttons of the Govern::~ent of the State and all

or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by the Gover­

nor or a.'ly body or authority 1n the state other tnan the Leg­

lslatura or the State; declare that the powers o! the Legisl­

ature of the State shall be exercisable by or under the auth­

ority or Parliament; And make such incidental and consequnt­

ial provisions as appear to the President to be necessary or

desirable !or giving e!fect to the objects of the Proclamat­

ion, including provisions !or suspending in whole or in part

the opeoratlon or any provisions or the Constitution, relating

to any booy or authority in tbP State. This however does not

authorise the President to assu!l1t" to h1C!Sel!' any or the P""­

ers vested in or exercisable by n High Court, or to suspend

in whole or in part the operation or nny provlslon or the '

Constitution relating to Hleh Courts.

\-/hUe laying a Proe l!l:not i oo 0'\ the Table, no obllgat­

ion ls cost on the Governme:\t to lny also n copy or the

report of the Governor or the State concerned in cases where

the President has acted on such report. Approval or the Pr­

oclamation by both. Houses or Parliament is follwed an Act

delegating certain powers to the President including the po­

wer to malte laws ror the State concerned. According to Dr.

Ambedkar however, overriding powers entrusted to the Central

Government are justified on the grounds .or e01ergent situati­

ons which threaten the very survival of the Stah and the

intrest of the Nation as a whole. He told the Constituent

Assembly :ltlf at all they are brought into operation I hope

1?

the President who is endowed with these powers, will take

proper precautions before actually suspending the adC1inlstr­

ation o1' the provinces. I hope the i'lrst thing he will do

whould be to use a mere warning to a provl.nce that has erred,

that things were not hnppning in the way which they were

intended to happen in th.e Constitution. If that warning falls,

the second thing ror him to do wlll bE' to order an election

allCMlng the people of the province to settle matters by them­

selves. It l.s only when these two remedies fall that he would

resort to this article •••••• I do not think we could than say

that these articles were imported l.n va1n or that the Presid-13

ent had actedwantonly ...

If the President 1s sat1sr1ed that a sltuat1!Y.l hns arl.•

sen whereby the f1nanc1al stab1l1ty or credit or lndl.a or of'

any part thereof 1s threatened, he may by Proclamation make a

decl.nrnt1on or r1nanc1al F.mergency.

Ordinances a If at rmy time, except when both Houses or Parllament

lB are in session, the President is sat1sr1ed that the cl.rouiiiSt­

ances exists which render l.t necessary t"or h.lm to take immed­

iate e.ctl.on, he may promulgate Ordinances as the circumstances

appear to 111m to require.20

Article 123(2) says that an Ordinance so promulgated

by the President hets the same force and et"f'ect as an Act or

l'arlhment, but every sucll Ordinance has to be laid before

both. Houses or I'nrllatne!tt 1 or, l.f' betore the expiration of

six weeks from the reassumbly or Parliament, or, if before

the expiration or that period resolutions disapproving l.t

are passed by both Houses, then upon th.e passing or the sec­

ond of the resolut!.ons. It can also be withdrawn at any time

by the .President. The Ordinance- making power of the head or

the Executive in India can be traced to the Indian Counc1l Act

of' 1861. Before the constitution come into force, the Ordl·

nance malting power or tb.e Governor General was governed by

section 72 or the Government or India Act, li:l35. The Ordin­

ance Haking power or the President has been a frequent po1nt

or discussion in Lolt Sabha, but 1t has been held by the spea•

ker that pro:nulgat1on or a!\ ordinance is in the discretion or

the President and such d1scret1on cannot be controlled 'by

the House. f

- :{otton of No-Contldt>nce 1n the Cou'1c1l or ;Un1stersl

The Council or H1nisters ls collectively respO!\Slble

to Lolt Sabha1 the responsibility 1s Jolnt and indlvidable.

However, in k.ee~!.ng "Wltn the h!.gn parlla~nentary traiLtlons 1

individual !·lin1ster have of their own accord accepted

constitutional responsibility ror, and resigned on account

or, the detective pollcies of shortcomings or the depart'mc­

nts under them.

Collective responslbll1ty is assurrd by the enforce­

ment of two principles a rlrst, no person ls no::~innted to

to the Council except on the advica of the Prime l11nlster;

secondly, no person is ret'!llned as a mel!lber of the Council

1r tl:l.e Prime l<iln1ster demands Ills dlsmlssnl.

19

In vlew or the express constltutlonal provlslon

regardlng collective responslblllty or the Council ot Mlnls­

ters to Lok: Sabha, a motion expressing want or confidence ln.

an lndl vidual Hlnlster ls out of order; under tile Rules,

only a motion expressing want or contldence ln the Cout\c1l

or iUnlstE'rs as a body is admlss lble.

11' the Speaker holds a no-conridence motion to be ln

order, the member who has tabled the notice asks ror leave

of the House to move the motion. The Speaker thereafter

calls upon members ln ravour or leave being granted to rlse

ln their seats. .Leave ls deemed to be granted by the House

wntah. U: not less th.an f'irty members rlse, and a physical

count ls taken to determine that the requisite number or

memoers have stood ln support or the motion.

t>lhen a number of 11otlces or no-confidence motion

are received for the sn~e slttlng, and lr two or more are

held to be ln order to thelr receipt in point of time. Aa

soon as leave or the i!ouse to the moving of any motLoo. ls

~ranted, the reDlainlng motl ens, lf any, are kept pen:Ung

20 till the one to the mover of which leave of' the House has

been granted is disposed off. A motion of' no-confidence

is required to be taken up within ten days f'rOCl the date on

which the leave to move l.t l.s granted by the House.

With a view o1' seeing that discussion on the time

alloted and all groups in the House have their due share

in the d1.scusston, the speaker may prescribe a time lliilit

on speeches and indicate the ratio in whlch t1tne would be

distributed among various groups.

After the members !lave spoken on the motion tile

Prl.me Hl.nlster replies to the charges levelled against tne

Government. The mover of the motion has a right of reply.

The Speaker rorthwlth puts the question necessary to dete­

rmine the decision or the House on the motion. If the House

clearly shows that it does not propose to support the Gover­

nment 1f, that l.s, the Government has lost the c onf1dence oi'

the House, lt must res lgn or have the House dissolved. Dis­

solution can only take place arter the President is satisfied

that 1t is not possible to rorm a..'l alternative Government fo­

llowing or defeat and :resignation of a Ministry. In case

the President d1ss olves that House, the dere ated M1n1str1'

continues -1n or!lce as a Caretaker Government unt1.l the gene­

ral elections, following tile diss olut1. on or .Lolt Satlha, are

over. UQolever, res1gnnt1on or dissolution would rolla.r only

where the detent implies loss of confidence. \'hat the Gov­

ernlllent will treat as a matter or substantial importance on

which to resign or to d1ss olve the House 1s, primarily, a

question or the Govern:nent to decide. The opposition cnn test

21 tile opinion or the House by demanding a vote on the mot1on

or no-con!ldencc.

In the Statee, however, the position 1s dU'terent.

On the defeat and resignation or a Hinlstry, the Governor

of a State has to ascertain whet!ler an alternative Govern•

ment can be formed, and l:f' he 1s unable to. do so, he has

to report to the President and the decision will be taken

tbere on.

Amendment in the Constitutions

Unlllte many written Constitutions whlch have one

unif'orm procedure tor ef:f'ect1ng rtany cbange of any kind

in any part of the Constitution," the Constitution of India

provides tor a variety in the amending process of a feature

which has been c om:nended tor the reason that U.."li:f'orm1ty in

the amending process imposes "quite unnecessary restrictions"

upon the a:nendm.ent or a Const1tut1on.21

I!' experience shows that words used in the Constitu­

tion were inadequate or inappropriate or have been erroneou­

sly interpreted, ressons requires than amendment should be

made in the relevant words and the constitutional process

allowed to function in aid or the ilns1c o'bjeetlves or the

Constitution. That, 'broadly stated, 1s the reasonable con­

clusia'UI a'ly student or democracy and or constitutional law

WOuld drAW !roill ttlf.' process or e.mendlllents.

'!'l'o supre111e Court and no Judiciary can stnnd in jud­

geClent over tile sovet1gn. will or the l'nrllntu>!'lt reprHenting

22 the will of the enttre co:nmun1ty. Ir we go wrong here and

there, it can poin.t it out, but in the ultimate analysis,

where the future or the community 1s concerned, no Judiciary

can come in the way. And 1t it comes in the wny, ultitnately

the whole constitution 1s a creature or ParliaMnt •••••• it

1s obvious that no court, no system or judiciary can :runctlon

in the nature ot: a Third House or correction. So, lt is 111\•

portant that with. tnt.s Umltatt.on the judiciary should tu.."lct­

lon ••••• ~ ultl.mately the raet remains that the Legislature

must be supreme and must not be lnterrerred with by the

courts or law ln such measures or s octal reforms. 22

Pandit Hehru observed while speaking ln the House or

tne People that "A Const1tut1on whl.cb. ls unchangable and ste.­

tl.c it does not matter how good it 1s, h. ow perrect it 1s - is

a Constitution that h.?.s outlived 1ts use. It 1s 1n 1ts old

age already a."ld eradually approaching its death, A Ct.nst lt­

utlon to be living must be growing, must be adoptable, must 23 be flexible, must be changeable.

The Const1tutLon provides tor three categories or

amendro.ents 1 articles wll1ch are open to amendoent by s implo

maJority; articles which requires special majority ror th.e1r

amendment, and articles amendments to which are required to

be passed by special majority and also to be ract11'1ed by

J..eglslatures or not less than one balf or the states.

In addition, there are several articles which lenva

matters subJect to l!'lliJ maie by ParUar.~ent. lly pnsslng ord­

inary laws Parliament ony, in effect, modify or nnnu1' the

operat1on or certain provisions or the Constitution, tlle7

cannot be regarded as atnendments or the Constitution not

categorized as such.

In India, there ls no separate constituent body for

23

the purpose of amendment of the Constltutlon, constituent

pm~er also bt>!.ng vested ln Parl1nm.ent, Tb.e role or tile States

ln regard to amendment or the Constitution is limited.

Political Pnrtiesa

Political part1es are far older than democracy. The7

have existed nearly all countries and under all forms of' Gov­

ernments though less monarchies than ln ol1garchles, ln the

letter or which thP.y have been particularly frP.quent and f1e­

roe.24

In popular Governments, however, parties have a wider

extension lf not a more strenuous l1:Ce, ror where every citi­

zen has a vote, wltll a duty to use it at elections, each or the parties which strive ror mastery must try to bring the lar­

gest possible nu:nber or voters into lts rank, organize the:n

locally, appeal to them by spolten ar.d printed words, bring up

to the poll. B:lllots having replaced bullets in polltlcal

str1f'e, ev£>ry voter 1s supt-osing to belong to one o1' the part-

1M hosts and to render more or less obedience to its lenders.

rnough the professed reasons f'or the ex1st£>nee of' a party 1s

the pronotlon or a particular set of doctrines a~d ideas, lt

has c once rete side as well as set or abstract doctrine.

Uhatever its or1g1n, every pnrty ll ves nnd thrives by

concurrent action of four tendenc les whlcb. may be descrllled

as those of Sympatny, Imltatlon, Co:npetltlon and Pugnacity.

In countries wllicb. enjoy representative Government parties

b.ave two maln functions, tile promotion by the argument ot

tb.elr pr1nclples and carry1.ng of elections. Party splrlt ls

a force working for good or evll ln public life is a matter

which must lle left to the c 1t1zen thelllSelves. Upon them lt

must depend whetb.er 1t 1s reasonable end cemparate or voilent

and bitter. It 1s no greater a danger in democracies than

elsewhere.

There are many ways in which the development of polltl­

oal parties ln tnd1a dif'i'ered from their development ln Great

Britain an~ the European continent-not the least or whiell 1s

that the struggle by parties for parliamentary institutions ln

India wes not against an idegenous wealthy, aristooratic ruling

class, but rather agalnst ali(;n rulers, thus permitting Indian

big business, the intelligentia, the urban shopkeepers, and the

peasants to join together against a single enemy. But perhaps

the single most 1mportat1t dU'ference ls that of timlng. Part­

ies emerging today find ready made ideologies waiting for them,

wnUe parties of nineteenth century had to envolve their o.~n

ideologies to suit prevailing conditions. But even more impo­

rtant ln the matter or timing is the fact tllat suffrage was

introduced lnt o most European o ou.'ltries gradually and after

prolonged struggles. In process of brodening the poll tical

base was n r!!latlvely slow one, in most oases allowing t1me for

VArious grou111 to adopt thecselves to ne-.t poll tical rules. Bri­

tain is the classic ca:;e of the gralual entrance into pollt1ca

25 ot new group~- labour being the most recent who accepted the

basic do:aocratic trame-..zorlt. In India, as in the other newl:y

independent countries, universal suffrage hos been introduced

all atonce at a soc1et:r where intrests are nearl:y d11'ferent1nt­

ed and orgnnized. There is thus a measure or unpredictab1lit:y

in the bf'hav1our of these groups and consequentlY' a degree ot

latanc:r in Indian politics. So long as these grou~ !lave not

organized themselves, they provide a fertile a ground tor

orge.n1z.(',tion by prl:rt:r leaders who seek to direct protest in

ways that will gain political benerlt tor their groups or them­

selves.

Host of the Opposition parties which emerged after 1947

existed before independence, but they were largely political

gro~.tts witnin the Indian !tat1onal Congress t:u."'ction1ng in a

co:amon cause as a part of national movement. The national mov­

ement 1tsel! passed through three stages or developmentt first

it WllS a pressure group, then a national lllovement and, finally

a pol1t1cal part:y.

!'ioarly every Indian Party has been subjected the factio­

nal d1s ~utes or s pUts, and E>ven within the CO!\gress there has

been !aet10'lal disputes 1n virtually ln every State. The dis­

pute w1th1n the Congress have rnost frequently been between the

Chief .11n1sters and their supporters in the State GovE>rnrnents,

on th!l one hand, a:ld, on the other tht> President's or Pradesh

:::ongress Co1lillittt>es and their !oll""t>rs, who CO!\trol the party

organization. :.TcY tllere is an open spllt 1n tht> org11nlzation

and k!l(Joln as Indian ~nt1onal Congrt>ss nnd Indian :lntlonal

Congress ( Opp01Sit1on). Aoong tile loft parties, fnatlonal

disputes are so ClUCll a rnatter o1' course tnat only when a major

spllt oc:curs do newspapers botner to report the event in 1954,

i'or example, there was a.notner spllt ln the l1arx1.st Forward

.Bloc:k. The R. c. l'. I has also been torn by factional disp­

utes. In 1355 the l'. s. P. was spllt by the withdrawl or

Rarn Manohar Lohia and Ills supporters, who formed a new s oc1a­

llst !'arty. Again there was a e1erger in June, 1964 and formed

Sarnyukta Soc:1al1st Party and onwords there were a split in

January 1965 and the P.s.P. revive the units. In 1364 the c. P. I. raced the open spllt a'ld a new party was formed which

is known as c. P. I. (H.). The Hindu Co:nmunal groups have been

no less subject to isms. In the latter part of 1954 there were

reports or grwing di.fferences between the R.s .s. memoers or

Jan Sangh and non R.s.s. mee1bers. The Hindu Hahasabha has also

be ridden with the ract1onal1so.25

In addition to these, a large number or parties which

were existence before the general elections than won sents,

but even the number which won seats in impressively high. In

the House or the People alone some twenty three parties are

represented, and above fifty parties, including most of those

with seats in Parliament. A few of these parties merged with

others, and most of them retain their independent status.

Other oay yet merge and still other may be eliminated by the

electorate 1n subsequent elections.

Party s;,'Ste:n is an 1ntegrnl part of thl' pnrl1a:::.onta­

r1 rorn1 or Govern:nent. J;aring a !e1o1 111eobers vho !:lay not be

attached to any party, most oembers of Parliament have a dual

47 capacity; they represent a constituency and a party. !rhere

1s always a party in pl7tler and a party or parties in oppos­

ition. In tile Central Legisla.t1ve Assel!lbly tb.ere was noth­

ing to correspond to pnrty systell\ as th.e expression 1a resp­

onsible to tile H?us~. The parties were to be rou.'ld only in

opposition; there w~ no party 1n p011er as s uoh. !rhougb.

the moderates were returned to the nrst Assembly in 1 prep­

ondering nu:nbers 1 , they did not rorm any 1 parmanent party

d1v1s1on•.26

Arter the second elections in 1923 1 a •eo:npact d1s­

c1pl1ned and well organized' Swaraj1st Party was formed 1n

tb.e Ass~mbly by two Congressmen, c. R. Das and tlotllal Nellru.

It was, he1o11ever 1 in 19271 that there developed !n the third

Assembly, !or tile tirst time, something like tb.e distributi­

on or the greater part or the elected members into organized

groupsa the Swaraj1st, Independents, the N'atlonal!sts, the

Central Hoslem Party, and the European Group.

The year 1934 was s1gn11'1cant Dot only because of

the resuscitation or the old SwaraJist Party but also for the

formation o! new Congress Nationalist Party. The Congress

Party 1n the Assembly acted like a machine. Once the party

dec1s1on on a question had been taken, and working with

consuaate sk1ll lt functioned as an effective parl!a:nentnry

oppos1tion.27

Members or th!' Congress Party boyo ot ted attending

the Central Assembly in 1939 in response to a resolution passed

48

by th.e Worl!:.ing Cotrunittee ot tb.e Congress Party. It has onl7

in 1943 th.at th~ Congress Ulembers returned to their seats 1n

tho Assembly. An important event in the party systerll in the

Central Legislature was an understanding between the Congress

and the Muslim League ln 1945, born out or a common d1sllke

tor the Government. When the election so long delayed owlnc

to the war were held in 1945, the newly elected legislature

was a changed Assembly altogether and partly alignments became

clenr and well defined. fhe Opposition had ~he maJority and

c ouJ.d and did defeat the Government on many issues, so long as

the Congress and the Huslim League could combine.

It was only when India becawe independent that there

cawe into bel.ng the parliamentary form of Government with the

Cabinet responsible to the Legislature, a party in power and a

number of' political grOIJPI in Opposition. Party system 1s

still in a f'orttlatlve stage in India and a str1king feature

about elections in the psrtielpation therein of a plethora of'

pol1t1cal parties. Xhe strength or the political parties in

the House 1n the rtrst session or the Lolt Sabb.a a!ter eneh.

general electLons is shcwn 1n the tables.

Democracy on proper lines, re=ark:ed speaker 1-lavalankar,

will nevP.r crew, pon1bl:Y not more than two maJor parties,

wll1cb. call almost balance each other as the Government and the

Oppos!tion. W1th a view to discourag1ng multipicat1on ot

parties and grcwth or splinter r;rou~, he laid dcwn general

principles ro. which recognition can be to political parties tot

their parlla~:~entnry work 1n the J..ok Sabha.

29

Tablo - l

P.Alt TY POOl TI O;'l IU i'Ht. LOK SADHA AFTER THE GE~~F.RAL EI.ol':CTI eNS,

Parties 1952 1957 1962 1967

Ind1an N~tS.onal Congress 364 371 358 283

Corn:nu.r11st Part7 of India 16 27 29

Colll!Ilunlst Party of India (Marxist) -- -- -- 19

BraJa Soa1al1st Party 12 l2 13

Salllyukta soc1al1st Party -- -- -- 23

Swatantra Party -- -- 18 42

Btlart1ya Jan Sa.r1gll 3 4 35

Tab

ll'!

-2

}!lT

'RS

ro J;

J."m

BX

PA

JU'l'

RS

un;;-

nam,

u. 1

96

7

1962

Iit

'U!IO

o

t fl

O.

%

tb.

:&.

uo.

Part

y

Vb

teB

V

ote

s P'l~d

fOll

ed

Co

ng

reo

s 5

9,5

31

,42

5

40

.82

5

l ,5

09

,08

4

44

.73

5

7,5

79

,50

0

Sln

tnn

trn

1

2,4

58

,54

7

8~

9,0

85

,25

2

7~89

.. c!

p. I·

7,l

5l,

04

9

4:0

0

ll. ,

45

0 ,0

07

9·

911

~0,754,Q75

c •P

•J;•

W)

6,5

07

,32

3

4:4

6

--

-;;r

. s:

-1

3,5

45

,12

0

9-2

9

7,4

15

,17

0 6~

7,14

9,13

24

p.

S•

p.

4,4

89

,28

9

3~8

7,0

08

,34

5

6.a:

'. 1

2,5

42

,66

6

s. s

. p

. 7

,12

9,7

83

4

·89

-

--

H!I

P•

3,6

88

,79

1

2.5

3

3,2

55

,08

5

2.8

3

-O

ttt!

rB

Ind

. 3

1,3

47

,59

9

21

.49

4

4,6

05

,01

7

21

.36

3

2 ,4

f17

,?5

7

1'0

tnl

l.4

5,8

48

,92

6

10

0.0

0

ll5

,1sa

,eoo

l.O

O .0

0 l

.20

151

3 ,9

15

1.95

7 ~ vo

tes

,;o

lled

47

.78

- 8.9

2

- 5.9

3

lOA

J. - -

26

.96

10

0.0

0

fio

·

47

,66

5,f

!75

-3

,48

4,4

01

-3

2,4

62

88

- - -51

,54?

,931

10

5,9

14

,49

5

19

52

~

Vvt

eB

p

:)l.

led

44

.99

-. 3.2

9

- 3.0

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.66

1.0

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~

c::

31

Table - 3

BREAK-UP OF SEA'lS PARTY'•'ISE

1967 1962 1957 1952 Name or Party L.S. J...A. L.S. L. A. L.s. L. A. L.s. L.A.

Congress 283 - 1694 361- 1772 371- 18;)3 364 - 2246

Swat antra 42 - 057 18 - 166 - - - -c. P. I. 23 - l23 29- 153 27 - 161 16 - 106

c. P, I .(M) 19 - 126 - - - - - -J. s. 35 - 260} 14- ll6 4- 46 3 - 35

P. s. P. l3 - 10J. 12- 149 19 - 195 - -s. S. P. 23 - 177 - - - - - -Repu. 1 - 21 3 ll - - - -Others 39 - 289 29 197 ~ 73- 611 106- 893

) Indep. 42 - 426 28- 291 )

Total 520 - 3486 49<l - 2855 494 - 2906 489 - 3280

•} ') .;..,

An ass oc1atlon or members who propose to rorm a Pnrl-

1amentary Party 1n Lo.lt Sabha must satisfy tho rollCMlng req•

u1site conditions 1

(i) Xhey should have a dlstinotlon ideology and pNgramme

of work whether ln the politloal, eoonomlo or soolal tleld,

which was a.l'\nounoed by them at the time oi' general elections

and on whlcb. tb.ey have been returr.ed to tb.e House. Tiley

should form homege:neous unlt capable or developing lnto well­

knit entlty.

(11) They should have an organlzatlon both lnslde and out-

s1d.e the House, which ls ln touch wltll tht> · publf.c op1n1on.

( iU) Xhey "'ould at least be able to command a s trengtll w hie h

would enable them to keep tile House, l.e. thelr number should

not be less thN'l the quorum fixed to constitute a slttlng of

the House, wlllch ls one tenth or th.e total memberslllp.

A political party, having represantation ln Lo.lt Sabha,

whlcll satisfy the two cond1t1ons but fall$ to command the re­

quired mlnl:nUlll strength, vlz. one tenth or the total me:nber­

slllp of tile House 1s reo ognlzed as a Parllamentary Group, pro­

vided lts melllben:hlp 1s atleast 30,

In tile flrst Lok Sablla tile Co:a:nunlst Party was rPcogn­

lzed as a Parllamentary Group ln the Hoi.Se. In Aug. 1954, heM­

ever the group last recognltlon when lts meobnrshlp droppad to

29. In tile Second Lo.lt ~ ablla no group of members was ree ognL­

zed as a Parllamentary Group ln the House. The Coll1:nunlst

Party cons 121 t lng of 34 me:nbers , was re.: ogn1zed in thl' 'l'hlrd

Lok S a'bha as a Parliamentary Group. The group, ho.r~ver lm t

lts recognition in September 11}64, due to split in tile Com­

munist Party. In Fourth Lok. Sabha, the Swatantra Party and

Jnn S angh were rec ogn1zed •

.Leader of tne flous ea

nte Prime Hin1ster, wno is the leader of tile maJority

party in Lok Sabha, usually !unctions as a leader of' the

House. Tile position was nwever changed in January l9GG,

af'ter the appointment of the new Prime l1in1stt>r, wb.o was a

member of' J:(njya ~;nbha. This r.ecMsintnd the appointment of

a separate leP.der or the House in Lolt Sabha. The leader of

the Howe exercises direct tnfluo'l.ee of tile course oi' bust­

ness. The whole polie:r or Governlll~!\t spe~i,.lly so far as 1t

1s expressed iu the inner life or the House and measures

dealing with the course or its business, 1s co:1eentrated in

his personallty. Tile responsibility or tile lead,~r of tile

House 1s not only to the Govern:nent. and its suppor·ters in tile

House but to tile Opposition and the House as a whole. lie

maintains l1asion between tile Government !'lrtd the Oppos1t1on

groups in the House.

Leader or t be Oppos it 1 on a

In a.'ly system oi' Government tllere w1ll alwa~ be a

struggle for p011er. Those who are net 1n o:i'r1ce will const­

antly tr)' to OU3t those wllo !orlll the Government for the time

being. The Parl1a!:lentnry systom or Gov!'rnDll'!rtt struggle !or

p~Jo~er on tile :i'loor or tile llous e by rt>e ogn1:1:ed parl1a:nent ary

methoclJ. One or the biggest parl1n=entnry acf,ieve111onta o!

the present century is that the role of the Opposition has

"been recognized and has been given a due place in the Parli­

amentary system. The leadel' of the Opposition 1fl thus an

important person. He 1s a shad eM Prime !Unlster and he has

to be prepared to take up the responsibility or 1'or111ing a

Government 11' his party secures a maJority at an election

or 1i' the Government resigns or is defeated. Thollgh he may

criticize the Government vehemently of' the floor o.t' the House

and outside in the co11ntry, "but a"broad he defends the policies

oi' the Government.

11An Opt>ooition can pursue a Government •..r1th sustained

criticism ~'lcl keep t.ei'ore the voters, betve"n genE>ral elect­

ions, the options that vill eventually coni'ron the:n. 1128 Tile

in!'l'-!ance of the Opposit!on over the fo1•mulaticn of the Gov­

ernment policy is not nagathe; though ole ourse, once a Gov­

ernment has firmly decided on a course of action, no Opposit­

ion 1s llkely to be able to !oree a cne,nge 11nless witn the

aid of the governing part:r•s Olin "bacltbenehers. The OppOB1t1on

pol1c1es and. uttera_r\ces are not always directed at vote wtnn-

1ng in the next ele.::tlon but s o::ne ti:nes at trylng to influence

as a s1tuat1on 1Cl::led1ately, or sim{JlY voicing the reael:!ons or s u._ porters.

It Ls a vitnl i111portenee ror ttl~ pol1t1eal health o1' tile

nation that thoro should be, ln every moment b(> seen to 'De a

credlta"ble alternative Government read7 and 'WRlting to take

over. It 1s not enough for an Opposltlon to work for p~er l!l

the next Parliament by diminishing conrldence in the present

Government, it must work to pursuo.de the publlc that it la

creditable alternatlve in the present by behaving responsiblly.

Yet/1rres pons ibll1ty1 1s also, · !l damaging charge agalnst any

Opposition and, 1n particular, its leading spokesman must often

speak with circUI!lSpectS.on about tb.e critical 1ssues.

F.ven 1f a Government 1s grossly mishandling the nation's

artalrs, an opposition stands no chance of taking over unless

it looks like an attractive alternative, and 1t ca.'l. only pres­

ent that appearance inside tile House of Commons. •Tne purpose

ot the party s~tem in a democracy 1s to make Opposl.tion resp­

ectable.•29

Detore the middle of the seventeenth century, most pub­

lic men in England attacked any sign of the growth of parties

•ract1ons • as tlley were called. By the end or eighteenth. cen­

tury, largely under the influence of people like Edmund Burke,

who defended the 1dea of party 1n a well known treaties. Party

1s a bod.y or men un1te1, for promoting th.eir joint endeavours

the national intrest, upon some particular pr1nciple in wh1ch.

they are all agreed •••• It 1s the business of the speculative

phllosoph.er to 111ake the proper ends of Government. It 1s the

business or the politician, who is th.e ph.llos opher in actlon 1

to f'ind out proper means t ~ ards those ends, and to employ

them with ertrot. Therefore every ho!'lourable connection will

a h<* it 1s there t1rst purpose, to pursue every Just method

to put the men who hold their opinions into su:h a condition

as as may enable them to carry their col!llllon plans into execut1on.30

During the nineteentll century parties were given org­

anizational rorm, 1'1rst on a loaal bas 1s a'ld later natl onally •

.But tile time the twentletll century dawned the party system

bad come to be recognized as a vital element or JJr1tisll parl-

1amentarr demoor~y. In the !!..nal !l.'lalysis the party systf'm

seems to be inevitable 1n a demoarat1c society. 'the system

1s not fixed and static. It is merely a convenient device to

enable majority to have the1r way and the m1norl.ty to have

their say. 'the secret of making tbe system work 1s to knOll

when to put into cold storage.

strict party alignments and tne c ond1t1ons, tile Oppo­

sLtion can not tarn out tne Government. The Govern:nent can

loCI!le its party major1ty 1n one or two ways only, by a gene­

ral election. or by a party split. An Opposition never hes1-

tates to put a i'lnger 1nto any crack 1n the party i'rolll agai­

nst it. the OppCI!litlon does not expect to be able to 1'oll011

'Tierney's' advice and •turn out the GovernE!lent' by its vote.

It hopes to pursuade the i'loating vote to do so at the next

election. It 1s the !unction or the Government so to mould

its policy and to Eila.'lages its rorce that it never runs tbP

risks or def'eat. It 1s recognized that a defeat 1s da111aging

to its prestige, a'ld 1t 1s tbe purpose of' the Opposition to

shaw tllat 1t could manage tile af'fairs or tile nat1on such

move competently. 'Ihere is less lau or prest1ge in 'With­

drawing an unpopular proposal than 1n being beaten on.

Parliamentary debate 1s, llowever, only one or tile

instru:~ent of' the Oppos1t1on. l'he Oppos1.t1on 1s a party

outside the :louse of' Commons as well as inside. there is one

feature of' Opposition which has llttle connection wlth the ele­

ctoral process. The importance of' Parliament as an instrument

f'or the redress of' individual grlvances. On suchlSsues, 110111-

ever the 1ebatll rarely runs on pr.rty lines. The task of' tile

Opposition is not merely to see that such of' the Government's

proposals as are objootlonable are opposed by volce and to

vote, to secure concessions on Government's Bill, to compel

the Government by all methods of' propaganda to modify its

general policy, and f'lnally to create the necessary public

opinion against tile GovE~rnment !or the next electl O!lJ it m~St

take part also in the actual process of parliamentary Govern­

ment~l

Af'ter seventeen yenrs oi' f'reedom, India today does n.ot

posses an Opposition ln th.e sense 111hlch it ls understood ln.

the West. As the term 1s used here, nopposltion" slgnlf'les

an organized group whlch 1

(a) of'rers constructive cr1ticlsrn of' Government pollcles

while subscribing to dee~ocratic values and pract1ces l

(b) is ln a position to provide alternative pollcles to

those of' the party 1n paierJ

(c) llas the necessary lnf'luence and organizational stren­

gth both at the State and National levels to make its prese­

nce 1'elt ln the political lifo or the c our1trn and

(d) has co!!lpetent and clean leadership whlcll not only pre-

sents a superior 1cage but also has the capacity to assWie

tile reins or power when callei upon by the electorate to do

so.

Used ln these sense 1t becollles llll:ll~dlately apparent

tb.at not one a! the Oppcsltlon parties ln the country can

lay cla1ms to being a genuine "Oppcsit1on~32 It 1s hardly

possible to say about the nature or functions or the Oppo­

sition 1n the Legislature in India since owing to the pecu­

liar array, and strength or parties, an Opposition in the

English sense has not been built up in this country during

tb.e short working or the Parliamentary system under its

independent Constitution. The primary reasons for the ab­

sence or a united Oppcsition is the marked dli't'erence ln

ideologies between tile various minority parties whicll range,

1 from the extreme left to extrellle right. •33

Tile need for an organized Opposition has, h~Yever,

been felt by many pol1t1c al leaders 1 inc lu11ng those of the

ma3or1ty party.34 "No Government demands so much rro111 the

citizen as Democracy and none gives so much back. Any free

people that has responded to the call of duty and has come

out or a terrible ordeal unshaken 1n courage, undlm111ed the

vision, with its vital force still frtt.sh and strong, need

not !ear to face the ruture,35

Indian ~at1 onal Conr,ressa-

It began as a soolal and cultural than a pol1t1cal

l!lovement ln the year 1835. Only Ln 188~ dld lt glve 1tsel!

a !orillal Coostl.tution. Its outloolt1 wrote two blstorlans 1

"was urbn.'l rather than ruralJ lt had no organic connection

v ith peDS ants, lab ourttrs or c OlL'ltry trn:iers •••• l'he great

maJority of those who attended the Congress were lawyers,

teachers or Journallsts, that is to say, they belong to

the three new profession which had grc:Mn up under .British

rule I a few Engllshmen or So otmen gave substantial help

in the early stages; the prooedul.'e was meddled on English

practioa; and the movement may JustU"y be dt'.scrlbed as

an attempt to influence the Government within the existing

Constitution."

By the end of First World Vlar the Congress trans­

formed ltseli' into a militant political organization. and

set before itseli' the task of llberating India !'rom fore­

ign rule. Un.tll the 1920's the urban lntelllgentia which

dominated the Indlo.n National Congress had llttle communi­

cations with the masses of the country. '

As a nation wide nationallst movement, the Congress

brought together a wide assortment o1' groups from business,

labour and the peasantry. Only colll!llunal considerations we­

re able to substantially divide the national ll!ovement 1 witb.

the Husllm, SUms, Anglo-Indians a:1d Parsees mal.ntaining

their Qlln organizations to. a:t on be hall' or tnelr a o:n:nun1-

ties. With the achieveii1ent oS: independence in 1347, the

obJec:tlves or the Congress had to be restatool. For, nither­

to, the primary objective or the ?arty was India's politi­

cal freedom • .Du.t the rreed001 would have beco:ne llleaningless

without the eo onouio pras parity of the nat 1 on.

According to Party's conception or the social orga­

nlz.ntion inevitably lends it to the ostnbllsh:nent or a

•secular State• in whlch every indlvl.dual !lave equal rights

and opportunities, and the removal or oarrlers whl.eb may

divide the people into opposing groups on tile bash or reli­

gion, caste, class or regioti. Further it accepts the imper­

ative necessity or planning for the development and advance

or various aspects or national llre and activity.

Commu.'\lst Party oi: lndh a-

Founded in 1924, the communist Party or India was an

illegal body till 1943, ln that year it held 1ts First Party

Congress ln Bombay.

40

:rtle attitude o1' the Co:nmunlst Party towards tile Second

1rlorld 'Tar led to the removal Of the Commu.'lists from tile A.

I .c.c. in Decetllber 1945. Its attitude was not clear 1n the - 36

early stages or negotiations for transfer o:f.' pa.t~er ln India.

On the eve o:t: lndepondance, the CPI declared that lt

would "Join the day or national reJoicing" and would place it­

self" shoulder to shoulder with the national movement tor the

:f.'Ull independence~ 37

In Oot., 1951, the All India Party c on:f.'erence approved

tile Dra:f.'t Progra;n:ne and the statement o:f.' the policy of CPI •

In Draft Progra:nme the C.P.I critlclsed thE'J foreign policy

o! India as "subervient to British imperallsm." Xhe party

changed its attitude, after 1954 when India and Sovlet Union

co:ne 1nto close co-operation.

Co:n:nunlst Parh of Indio C;.{arxlat) a-

Chl.nese aggresslon gave a serve blCM to the Indian

41 peopl.e. The whole natlon rose up like one man. The rise of

Indian Nationallslll posed a great threat to International Comm­

unism. A large section or the IndLan People demanded alignment

wlth western Pa.~ers and severel.y c ondelllned the Communists and

neutral.. c ountrles :for not dlstlngulshlng between the aggressor

and the aggressed. The people demanded a total ban on CPI.

They noticed that they have become very notorious ln public

eyes and it w a.s very dii'!i.c ult 1' or t nem to work on their pr og­

ram:ne i'or volle:1.t revolutlo!l. So they decided to blturoate a

mook ritt in the C.PI, taking advantage to Sino-Soviet feudS.

Thus, by saorli'icing one part of the Party and branding it es

pro-China.

To illake the rlt't look genuine, tile CPI National Council

sus{lended 32 members or the Council in April., 1964, who had been

loudly pleadlag i'or China 1n the past.

On April 9, 1964, the Communist Party of India apparent­

lY !i!pl1t into two grouiS the Right and the Lef't. A separate

Conf',rence of' tne Lei't Communists was called at Tenal1, in July,

1964

Praja Soolal1st Party of Indin1-

The PraJa Sooi~tllst ?arty was born after the f'lrst Gene­

ral Elections as a result or the merger of' tho former Sooiallst

Party o! India and tho K. H. P. P. Both these parties vere tile

prod~~:ts of' the union o1' different grouiS or diss ldents tr0111

tile Congress Pnrty, who left 1t i:n:ned1ately nf'ter the o 0011ng at

independence. While tb.e Soalallst .Party WOS CO::lposed of 1deolo­

g1 coder ate lef'tlsts who stood 1' or the establls h:nent of' dPC100 ra-

42

tic socialism or India, the K. J:.f. P. P. me111bers clai111ed

to be true Gandhian who stood for the ideals which Gandhi

propagated. Neverthless, the tact was that there was hard­

ly any tunda111ental dU'f'erence between the two parties. Soon

arter the elections, in Hay, 1962 they decidPd to establish

a political alliance with a view to give a markedly greater

c onere nee to the non-Co:n:~unist Oppcsition.

Samxultta Socialist Party •-

~lle na~ Socialist Party formed by the merger or the

Praja Soc1aUst Party and Socialist Party, was christened

Samyultta SociaU.st Party on June 6, 1964.

At the first Conference or the new formed party ca~led

at Varanashi from Ja'luary 2:1 to I<'ebruary.l1 1965, a Sillall

section. of' tile roriller Praja Socialist members quit the SSl'

to revive the HiP.

l'he Party alms to achieve, by democratic and peaceful

111eans, a Socialist Society, free !rom social, political and

econo~nical exploitation of' man oy man and nation by nation.

The Party will organise, guide and lead peaceful re­

volutionary class struggles, mass move~nents and civil dis ob­

edience I promote c onstructlve ei"rorts J and also use parlia­

mentary methods to secure political pe14er in ordl'r to elimi­

nate aU !or::s or inJustice and fetrlal capitalist explo1tatl.on.

Bhart1ya Jan f>Rnghz-

The hkhll .Uhartiya J nn .:. angh vas r ormPd in rt ew Delhl

at a con vent ion attended by 500 delegates i'rom dltferent

parts or Ind1a. The Jan Sangh came into existence on Oct•

ober 2, 1951 as a "rightist" party in c ontradictlon to the

then existing opposition parties, whicn' were, by and large,

"leftist". The BJS previously functioned on a purely pro­

vinclal'basts. Dr. Shyatna Prasad MukerJee, who was i'ormely

Pres ldent or All I ndla Hindu Hahas abha, was unanimously ele•

cted !>resident or tile new organization. Later he joined

the Union Cabinet in 1947, but resign.ed in April 1950 as a

protest against what he considered to be tile lamentable

lack or in1t1at1 ve and t1r:nness ln the Government's tackling

or tne problelll or the m1.nor1t las in Pakistan.

Swat antra Party :-

43

The formal decision to establlsll the swatantra Party

Was made public ln Madras on June 4, 1959. The date or JU!'le

4, 1959, 1s signli'lcant prlmarlly because it pest-dates tile

Nagpur Resolution, and Hadras 1s important primarily because

it suggest a south India.'l origin.

Commenting on the birth or swatan.tra, one writer has

argued that 'in one sense tills was not tne e111ergence of a

new pol1tical former, but only the regrouping of tne conser­

vative elements in Indiar; Scciety wllioll are making tbe:nselves

felt 1n the working or other parties e!U'H~r. •38

' During the period o1' 11}50 to 1952 pr1 or to the First

General Blectlons, tnere was only evacuee probll!!ll and the rel­

ation in the 1nt ernatlonal fleld wnre llmit ed w lthin I ndla

and Pakistan mainlT•

••