democracy in india Archives - Lokmarg

Means Parliamentary Democracy Is Dead: Chidambaram

By LokMarg 7th April 2023

Congress veteran and former finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday slammed Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi over his “Bill is dead” remark, saying it means “Parliamentary Democracy is dead”.

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Thursday, while interacting with the civil services aspirants, explained the role of the Governor in the Constitution, saying that he has the option to give assent or withhold a Bill passed by the Assembly, adding that the latter means that the “Bill is dead”.
In a tweet, Chidambaram said, “Governor, Tamil Nadu has given a strange & peculiar definition to the withholding of assent to Bills passed by the Legislature. He has said that it means the ‘Bill is dead’. Actually, when a Governor withholds assent for no valid reason, it means ‘Parliamentary Democracy is dead’.”

The Governor said “withholding” is a “decent language” used for rejecting a Bill.

Interacting with the civol services aspirants here, Ravi said the responsibility of the Governor is to protect the Constitution.

He also said the Governor looks into a Bill to check if it “transgresses the Constitutional limit” and if the state government has exceeded “its competence”.

“Our Constitution has created the position of Governor and defined his roles and responsibilities. The first and foremost responsibility of the Governor is to protect the Constitution of India because whether it is the Union or the State, each of these entities has to work according to the Constitution. How do you protect the Constitution? Suppose, a state makes a law that transgresses the Constitutional limit. In a legislature, a political party has a brute majority, let us say, they can pass any Bill,” he said.

“If it transgresses the Constitutional limit, the Bill passed by the Assembly does not become a law until the Governor assents to it. Assenting to is a constitutional responsibility. The Governor has to see if the Bill is exceeding the limit, and whether the state is exceeding its competence. If it does, then it is the responsibility of the Governor to not assent to the Bill,” Ravi added.

Explaining the procedure after a Bill, upon its passage, is forwarded by the Assembly to the Governor, Ravi said the latter has three options before him — assent, withhold or reserve the Bill for the President.

“The Constitution says that when a Bill passed by the Assembly is forwarded to the Governor for assent, the Governor has three options – assent, withhold the assent… Withholding does not mean that I am just holding it. Withholding has been defined by the Supreme Court by the Constitution Bench, withholding means the Bill is dead. It is a decent language used instead of using rejected. When you say withhold, it means the Bill is dead. Third, he reserves the Bill for the President,” the Tamil Nadu Governor said. (ANI)

Northeast Neither Far From Delhi, Nor From Our Heart: Modi

By LokMarg 2nd March 2023

After the results of assembly polls of three northeastern states were declared on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the election results depict people’s faith in democracy, adding that the Northeast is neither far from Delhi nor from the heart.

Prime Minister Modi received a warm welcome at BJP headquarters in the national capital. PM urged the workers gathered at the occasion to turn on the flashlight of their phones in honour of the people of the northeast.

Addressing party workers at BJP headquarters, PM Modi said, “The Northeast is neither far from Delhi nor from our heart. The election results depict people’s faith in democracy. I humbly thank the people of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. These people have blessed the BJP and its allies. Besides, I congratulate the BJP workers of these three states. It is not easy to work in the northeast, and therefore a special thank is due to them.”

Today’s results, the PM said are the outcome of the hard work of all BJP workers. Today’s election and these election results have many messages for the country and for the world, he said.

In reference to earlier times, PM Modi said, “There was not much discussion in Delhi and other parts of the country when the results were out from the northeast region. The discussion was about the violence during the elections.”

The PM said winning the heart of the people of the northeast is a big win for him. He said the time has come for the northeast region’s peace, prosperity and development.

“By frequently visiting the northeast, I won their heart. And it is a big win for me. I was satisfied that the people of the northeast are no longer ignored. It is a time to create new history. When I visited the northeast recently, someone congratulated me on the half-century. When I inquired about it, I was told that I had visited the northeast 50 times,” he said.

The PM said BJP gave a new model of politics in India. For BJP, the country and the countrymen come first.

Many political analysts are trying to understand the reason for the victory of the BJP. Some of our well-wishers want to know the reason. The reason is ‘Triveni’. It means the combination of three streams. The first power is the work of the BJP governments, the second one is the work style of the BJP and the last one is the BJP work. The ‘triveni’ increases the power of the BJP by 1+1+1 = 111 times”

Earlier in Tripura, Prime Minister said there was a situation where even a flag of another party could not be hoisted. If someone tried to do it, he was made to bleed. “What a big change we have seen in these elections this time. Now we are seeing the Northeast moving in a new direction,” he said.

Prime Minister said BJP government is committed to the empowerment of women. Through various flagship schemes, he said the government ensured the empowerment of the women of the northeast.

After seven decades of independence, many villages of the northeast did not have electricity. Previous governments knew that it was a difficult task to electrify those villages, and therefore they turned a blind eye towards them, he stated.

Attacking the Congress party, PM Modi said, “Today’s results have exposed Congress’s thinking about the northeast. Congress claimed that these are small states and insignificant. It is an insult to the mandate and the people of the northeast states.”

“At such a time, some people are aspiring to dig Modi’s grave. But wherever there is a chance, the lotus keeps on blooming…It keeps on blooming. Some people are engaged in identifying fanatics…They also do dishonesty with fanaticism. These fanatics say – ‘Mar jaa Modi…mar jaa Modi…Desh keh raha hai mat jaa Modi,” Prime Minister added.

With the declaration of results for the Tripura Assembly polls on Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in the state by winning an absolute majority.

According to the Election Commission of India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 32 seats with a vote share of around 39 per cent. Tipra Motha Party came second by winning 13 seats. Communist Party of India (Marxist) got 11 seats while Congress bagged three seats. The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) managed to open its account by winning one seat.

The CPI(M) and the Congress, arch rivals in Kerala, came together in the Northeast this time in a bid to oust the BJP from power. The combined vote share of CPI(M) and Congress remained around 33 per cent.

Chief Minister Manik Saha defeated Congress’ Asish Kumar Saha from the Town Bordowali seat by a margin of 1,257 votes. In the 60-member Tripura assembly, the majority mark is 31.

The BJP, which had never won a single seat in Tripura before 2018, stormed to power in the last election in alliance with IPFT and had ousted the Left Front which had been in power in the border state for 35 years since 1978.

The BJP contested on 55 seats and its ally, IPFT, on six seats. But both allies had fielded candidates in the Ampinagar constituency in the Gomati district.

The Left contested on 47 and Congress on 13 seats, respectively. Of the total 47 seats, the CPM contested 43 seats while the Forward Bloc, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) contested one seat each.

The CPI(M)-led Left Front ruled the state for nearly four decades, with a gap between 1988 and 1993, when the Congress was in power but now both parties joined hands with the intention to oust BJP from power.

In Nagaland, BJP secured 12 seats, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) won 25 seats and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) bagged seven seats. National People’s Party (NPP) won five seats. Naga Peoples Front, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Republican Party of India (Athawale) won two seats each. Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) got one seat.

The majority mark in 60 seat Nagaland Assembly is 31.

In Meghalaya, the National People’s Party (NPP) won 26 seats, United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 11 seats and Trinamool Congress got five seats. BJP, People’s Democratic Front and Hill State People’s Democratic Party bagged two seats each. Congress managed to get five seats while the Voice of the People Party got four seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates. (ANI)

Democracy Under Threat: Kharge On Khera’s Arrest

By LokMarg 23rd February 2023

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at the BJP government for allegedly “harassing” Congress leader Pawan Khera and said that the Supreme Court order is a tight slap on the government’s face.

He further said that BJP is trying to eliminate freedom of speech adding that democracy is under threat.
“The BJP government tried to harass Pawan Khera. I am happy with SC’s order, it’s a tight slap on their face. I condemn this action by BJP. In Parliament also, we were stopped from raising issues. They are trying to eliminate freedom of speech. Democracy is under threat,” said Kharge.

The Congress chief alleged that BJP wants to stop the plenary session from happening but the people of Chhattisgarh along with the government here are working towards conducting this session.

“When Congress plenary session is happening in Chhattisgarh, our leaders are being raided by ED and I-T. They (BJP) want to stop this session from happening but the people of Chhattisgarh along with the government here are working towards conducting this session,” he added.

Kharge alleged that the Modi government has turned “India’s democracy into a ‘Hitlershahi'”.

“Notice is given if the opposition raises issues in Parliament. ED raids are conducted on our leaders of Chhattisgarh before the plenary session. Today the media chairman was forcibly taken off the plane and arrested. The Modi government has turned India’s democracy into a ‘Hitlershahi’. We strongly condemn this dictatorship,” Kharge tweeted in Hindi.

Khera was arrested by Assam Police on Thursday in Delhi.

The Dwarka court on Thursday granted interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera following the order passed by the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court said, “Till the next date of hearing, the petitioner will be released on interim bail by Dwarka court.”

SC directed the Dwarka court to grant interim relief to Pawan Khera.

Earlier today, Khera said that he is “ready to fight the long battle” soon after Assam Police arrested him in the national capital.

It is pertinent to mention that earlier today Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a plane at Delhi airport after a request was received from the Assam Police to stop him,” Delhi Police said on Thursday.

Earlier, the Assam Police registered a case against the Congress leader in the Dima Hasao district.

The Congress leaders protested after Khera was stopped by Delhi Police from boarding the plane at the airport.

Delhi Police said that a request was received from Assam Police for assistance in the arrest of accused Pawan Khera in case FIR No. 19/2023, PS Dima Hasao, District Haflong, Assam.

“Based upon the same, requisite local assistance was provided and upon the requisition of Assam Police, accused Shri Pawan Khera was detained from Terminal 1 of IGI Airport and has been subsequently arrested by the IO concerned of Assam Police,” a Delhi Police official told ANI.

“Necessary legal action shall follow,” they added.

In a video shared on Congress’s Twitter handle, Pawan Khera said that he does not know why was he deboarded.

“I don’t know. I was told that your baggage has to be checked. I said I do not have any luggage except a handbag. When I came down, I was told that I cannot go, a DCP would come. We are waiting for the DCP for the last 20 minutes. I don’t know why I am being stopped,” he said. (ANI)

No Institution In A Democracy Is Perfect: CJI Chandrachud

By LokMarg 25th November 2022

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday while talking about the Collegium system of appointing judges, said that no institution in a democracy is perfect.

“No institution in a Constitutional democracy is perfect. We work within the existing framework of the Constitution and we are faithful soldiers who implement the Constitution,” said the CJI while speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

Merely reforming the Collegium system of the apex court or increasing the salary of judges will not ensure that good and qualified people join the court.

“Getting good people in judiciary is not just about reforming the collegium…” the CJI said, adding that lawyers joining the bench as judges is a call of conscience and a commitment to the public.

He said that system has to make the office of a judge appealing to young lawyers.

CJI said November 26, 1959, was an important day because it was when the constituent assembly adopted the Constitution. The process of nation-building is a constantly evolving task, he said.

Constitution is constantly evolving to meet the new social realities of the time, CJI said.

He further said that the working of the Constitution depends on how the district judiciary is working. When we celebrate the Constitution we must be conscious of histories prior to the adoption of the Constitution, he added.

CJI said the legal profession must shed away its colonial underpinnings and in a country like India where summers include extreme heatwaves because of climate change we must reconsider the strict dress code for lawyers, especially in summers. The strictness of attire should not lead to moral policing of women lawyers, he added.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also attending the event said that a country progresses in the visionary guidance of its leaders.

“If leaders become weak, the country becomes weak. If CJI becomes weak, Supreme Court becomes weak and if Supreme Court becomes weak, the judiciary becomes weak. I congratulate Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and know the judiciary will rise under him,” Rijiju said.

He said he is committed to creating better infrastructure in the country.

“Independence of the Indian judiciary is untouched. We are here to protect it. Hum sab Ek hai. Aapas mein ladna theek nahi hai. (We are all the same, we should not quarrel among ourselves),” he added.

Attorney General R Venkataramani said that we need to see what justice needs of different sections of the community and restructure fundamentally our court system, our law framing, and our law reforms.

It is time we have a permanent Law Commission which is assisted by the best quality of experts, he said. (ANI)