Monsoon fission in Parliament

On August 7, delivering his maiden speech since becoming a BJP-nominated Rajya Sabha member in 2020, former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi uttered words that are likely to be remembered for who said them, as well as what was said. The basic structure of the Constitution, he declared, had a “debatable jurisprudential basis”. His comments, made during the debate on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, mark the first time the doctrine of the basic structure of the Constitution has been so openly challenged, that too by a former member of the judiciary.Though there is no mention of the term ‘basic structure’ anywhere in the Constitution of India, the doctrine has evolved over time as an inviolable guideline to protect and preserve the spirit of the document. The Supreme Court can declare any constitutional amendment passed by Parliament void if it is found to be in breach of the basic structure of the Constitution. The doctrine first came to prominence during the Kesavananda Bharati case in 1973. The monsoon session was the first to be held in the new Parliament building, and despite the disruptions and protests, it saw some historically significant legislations that are likely to have far-reaching consequences for citizens—and last long in contestation. For instance, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, comes as a pioneering law on data privacy, but critics say it gives enough exemptions to the government to mount surveillance on citizens by bullying big tech companies.The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, was another source of discord. It came under heavy fire from environmentalists who said it empowers the Centre to potentially sell, divert and exploit forest areas without any regulatory oversight. The government admits the amendment exempts certain categories of lands from the purview of the Act, but stresses it is only meant to fast-track projects of national importance. Besides, it claims the Act has new provisions to boost India’s forest cover.The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Act, 2023, also came under heavy scrutiny, with detractors saying it’s an assault on the autonomy of these prestigious institutes as the government has now expanded its role on appointment of directors. In fact, the amended law restores to the government powers it had ceded to the IIMs in 2017 through the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) Act. Government sources allege the IIMs have had a “governance vacuum” in the past six years. They cite how the earlier Act required the board of governors of IIMs to commission an independent review of the institutes once in three years and place the report in the public domain. Even among the top four, only one has followed this practice.Amid the fractious notes, the session also saw legislations that received unanimous support. For instance, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which decriminalised 183 provisions in 42 central acts, and the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, which aims to deter film piracy with strict penalties. Parliament also passed the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023, intended to foster and universalise a culture of research and innovation by putting up the capital required for it and spreading it more evenly. Funds for R&D, already scarce, tended to be monopolised by prestigious centres, leaving state-level educational and research institutes high and dry. A Rs 50,000 crore fund proposes to remedy this, although there are concerns that private sector involvement can steer research towards utilitarian rather than foundational ends.On the political front, there was a big development—the return of Rahul Gandhi. On March 24, in the middle of the budget session, the Congress leader had been disqualified after a Gujarat court awarded him two years’ imprisonment in a defamation case—the maximum possible sentence in such cases. By an odd coincidence, that was also the minimum required to automatically strip a lawmaker of his or her membership in a legislative house. Rahul had thus ceased to be the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala. On August 4, the Supreme Court stayed the conviction, paving the way for his reinstatement.All the decibels, of course, were soon being taken up by the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, only the second such since it came to power in 2014. Though the Opposition clearly did not have the numbers, the motion was resorted to presumably to force Modi to speak on the Manipur violence. The government, though ready to discuss the subject, had been unwilling to yield on a statement by the PM. The schism was such that walkouts and boycotts became the predominant flavour. Which was to have fateful consequences, because some of the contentious bills had an easy passage—without a debate. On August 2, Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha staged a walkout after deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh denied them an opportunity to speak on violent incidents across the country, including in BJP-ruled Manipur and Haryana. In the wake of that display of righteous indignation, the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, quietly became law.One bill that did not receive the blessing of silence was the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023. Seen as the BJP-led Centre’s coup de grace in a long battle against Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Act cedes partial administrative and political control over Delhi to the Centre. The bill was also a test case for Opposition unity: the Congress had taken around two months to lend its voice against it, a delay that had seen Kejriwal threaten to walk out of the ‘INDIA’ bloc. Finally, it was Congress leaders and legal luminaries Abhishek Manu Singhvi and P. Chidambaram who presented the strongest arguments against the bill.Even amidst all the sloganeering, one moment of parliamentary civility stood out. Defence minister Rajnath Singh was speaking in the Lok Sabha on the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, when Opposition MPs stormed the well, raising slogans on the Manipur issue. The veteran leader didn’t try to outshout the MPs, merely walked across to the backbenches and continued speaking. The bill eventually passed without much rancour. An innocuous presence amidst others that may one day elicit the description: ‘the monsoon session after which India won’t be the same’.Edited By: Arindam MukherjeePublished On: Aug 10, 2023Must Watch

TRENDING TOPICS

Monsoon fission in Parliament

The effect of a clutch of contentious bills may prove more long-lasting than a no-trust vote or Rahul Gandhi’s return

Opposition's no-trust motion lucky for us: PM Modi in Lok Sabha

Modi government wins no-trust vote by voice vote

Air India unveils new logo, livery after rebranding

'SOP: blame Nehru, Rajiv...': Congress's Priyank Kharge on PM's parliament address

'UPA's banega vs NDA's ban gaya': Nirmala Sitharaman tears into Opposition

PM assures peace in Manipur soon, says ‘Northeast our jigar ka tukda’

Shocking bid to manipulate justice system: High Court on Minister Ponmudy's case

Air India unveils new logo, plane colour scheme after rebranding

Congress's Adhir Chowdhury suspended from Lok Sabha for ‘unruly’ conduct

Probe agency ED moves court against 'no coercive action' order in NewsClick case

PUBLICATIONS

TELEVISION

EVENTS

RADIO

GAMING

USEFUL LINKS

PRINTING

WELFARE

DISTRIBUTION

SYNDICATIONS

WEBSITES

EDUCATION