How to block reforms, House style

Whether it is the repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act or the Lok Pal Bill or the Women’sReservation Bill, Parliament has repeatedly developed cold feet despite a stated political consensus.

Former finance minister Manmohan Singh, considered the chief architect of Indian reforms, candidly admits that he managed to get the process off the ground only because of the financial crisis facing the country when the Rao Government assumed office in 1991. “Once the crisis atmosphere was over, it was back to business as usual,” he said, sadly acknowledging that the pace of reforms in the last two years of his tenure was not as fast as in the first three years.

The history of the Lok Pal Bill is a telling comment on the dilatory tactics adopted by Parliament to put off a decision on an uncomfortable issue. The Bill has been referred to four different parliamentary committees since it was first introduced in the Lok Sabha way back in July 1977. Twenty one years later, it continues to evade passage because those who control the levers of power cannot reconcile themselves to public scrutiny. Yet, everypolitical party has paid lip service to the Bill.

Chidambaram’s former OSD, Jairam Ramesh, recalls how difficult it was to get various standing committees to even consider a bill. The standing committee of the Finance Ministry during the tenure of the UF Government, for instance, was headed by Sharad Yadav. “He wouldn’t even call a meeting,” complained Jairam. According to Jairam, if politicians really mean business, it should take only two weeks to push a proposed bill through the standing committees. “In our system, if you get lucky, it takes at least six months,” he said. Singh blames these frustrating delays in instituting change on the absence of a true consensus on the need for reforms. “The sad truth is that Indian politics is not serving the interests of the people in the manner that is needed,” he stressed.