LET me say this again. The government is accountable to Parliament. Parliament is accountable to the people. When Parliament is dysfunctional, the government is accountable to no one.
Middle school civics books told us the three arms of the state are the executive, legislature, and judiciary. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a body that squarely falls under the Executive while possessing certain quasi-judicial powers. And yet, we are now repeatedly told that the ECI is not accountable to Parliament. Incorrect. Parliament has the power to discuss the Election Commission of India. Why is the government not allowing it?
Over the last two sessions of Parliament, Opposition parties, including Congress, AITC, SP, DMK, AAP, RJD, SS (UBT), JMM and others filed over a hundred notices demanding a discussion related to the electoral process being more transparent. The Opposition was not fussy about which rule the discussion could be held under, and was also flexible about how the notice would be worded. What stopped the Narendra Modi-led coalition from discussing a notice titled, “74 Years of General Elections — Celebrating India’s Enduring Democratic Spirit”?
Cold feet?
Over the Budget and Monsoon sessions, the Modi government refused to engage in a discussion. The excuse cited was that Parliamentary rules do not allow for a debate on constitutional authorities. What do the Rules of Procedure actually say? Rule 169 prescribes the “Conditions of admissibility” for discussions on a matter of general public interest. Under this rule, there is no provision which bars or prevents a discussion on any constitutional authority, including the Election Commission of India.
There are multiple precedents of the ECI being discussed on the floor of Parliament. I can cite more than half a dozen examples. Here are just three: i) postponement of elections by the Chief Election Commissioner; ii) inadequacies in the electoral law in not providing a specific period for completion of a bye-election to Parliament; iii) delay in holding elections to the Delhi Metropolitan Council and bye-election in Garhwal Parliamentary Constituency.
There are several factors that give Parliament the power to discuss the ECI. Parliament holds the “power of the purse”. This means that the budget of the executive is subject to parliamentary approval. Any budget is approved only after an exhaustive discussion and a scrutiny of the “Demand For Grants” by Parliament. There are certain exceptions to this, such as the salary of judges of the Supreme Court, which is not subject to a Parliamentary vote. This is done to protect the independence of the judiciary.
The budget of the ECI, however, is subject to Parliamentary approval and is presented by the Union government through the Ministry of Law and Justice. This means that Parliament does have the power to scrutinise and discuss the ECI by virtue of holding the “power of the purse”. It is a violation of the powers of Parliament; therefore, when the government claims that lawmakers who approve the budget of the ECI do not have the right to discuss that institution.
This was a government which used its majority to pass the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023. Under this Bill (now an Act), the government eroded the independence of the ECI by giving itself complete and unfettered power to appoint the three election commissioners. However, that isn’t the key issue here.
What is important is that, in the process of passing this Bill, Parliament conducted an extensive discussion on the functioning and conduct of the ECI. Therefore, it is ridiculous for the government to claim that “ECI cannot be discussed in Parliament” when precedent shows that the poll body was discussed for seven hours combined, in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, as recently as December 2023.
Elections are the bedrock of democracy. The existence of the government as well as Parliament is determined through elections. The integrity of our electoral process, therefore, hinges on the citizens of the country and their representatives being able to discuss and scrutinise the body which is solely responsible for the conduct of elections. In the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, odds are that the Opposition will again demand a discussion on the ECI. Instead of hiding behind frivolous excuses, the government must respect the wishes of the citizens of India and participate in a frank and transparent discussion on the ECI.
PS: According to the rules in Parliament, “a notice… should not be given publicity… until it has been admitted”. All the notices mentioned in this column were from earlier sessions and have lapsed. This columnist hasn’t broken any rules!
The writer is MP and leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party
