Law is not an ass

On the day after the Congress-led UPA government hastened through its disregard for democratic norms and had Parliament adjourned sine die, hints of a sober rethink were visible. Government and party spokespersons were suddenly asking, what ordinance, which ordinance? Others were more noncommital, saying all options were open. Either way, this week8217;s drama will haunt every next step the government contemplates 8212; whether by ordinance or after first clearance by a parliamentary vote 8212; on the very piquant issue of offices of profit held by lawmakers. The PM, the first among equals, must put his ear to the ground and note the one significant gain of this unfortunate episode. A consensus stands strengthened on the immorality of ordinances except in the rarest of rare instances.

An expedient intervention by ordinance to place 8220;offices of profit8221; held by current MPs within the purview of the Parliament Prevention of Disqualification Act, 1959, cannot be regarded to be in urgent national interest. The Congress8217;s own allies 8212; most notably in the Left 8212; are counselling rectification by the established processes of legislation. Because: it is not just the government that has been besmirched by this sledge-hammerish attempt, the very independence of legislature has been placed in question. To assert its independence, Parliament must remember that it represents the collective wisdom of more than the sum of its individual representatives. It has a splendid opportunity now to display that, with this very law currently in the news.

It has been routine procedure to have offices added to that list of exemptions in a piecemeal manner as and when a sitting MP proposes to occupy a particular office. The magnitude of the problem invites larger questions of what it is that constitutes conflict of interest and what are the healthy degrees of separation between legislature and executive. Parliament would diminish its own prestige if it were to now take the legislative route simply to place the MPs in its ranks beyond disqualification. That would be self-serving. Instead, it must update that list on the basis of logic and sound reason.