UNIT 4, 5, 6 and 7 (1).pptx

Indian Constitution
and
Federalism
Unit 4 & 5

Introduction
Federalism as an institutional arrangement to accommodate India’s
pluralist socio-political character.
The puzzle of ‘parliamentary-federalism’ as the most appropriate
institutional set-up for governance in India.
Parliamentary federalism is a creative institutional response to democratic
governance suitable for India’s peculiar socio-political milieu.
Its resilience can be attributed to a series of adjustment to contextual
requirements which built up and also strengthened its capacity to survive
in adverse circumstances.

Demystifying Indian Polity
India has a hybrid system of government combining two classical models:
the British traditions, drawn upon parliamentary sovereignty and
conventions, and
The American principles upholds the supremacy of a written
constitution, the separation of powers, and judicial review.
The two models are contradictory since parliamentary sovereignty and
constitutional supremacy are incompatible.
India Constitution has evolved a completely different politico-
constitutional arrangement with characteristics from both the British and
the American constitutional practices.
Conceiving and developing a hybrid political system, described as
‘parliamentary-federalism’ based on both parliamentary practices and
federal principles.

Framed with utmost care, the founding fathers tried to create a ‘modern’
India by neglecting traditions and based on Enlightenment ideals.
Believed in the notion that ‘to rescue people from tradition, their
intellectual and practical habitats, all that was needed was simply to
present a modern option; people’s inherent rationality would do the
rest’.
Contemporary political experience demonstrates reappearance of
traditions in various different forms in political articulation of
democracy.
The peculiar historical circumstances gave the consensus in the
Constituent Assembly to form a union with a strong Centre.

In devising the Union-State relations, the founding fathers were
influenced by the principles underlying the Constitutions of Canada and
Australia, which had parliamentary federalism, and the US, which had a
presidential system.
Ambedkar commented on the final document as ‘unitary in extra-
ordinary circumstances such as war and other calamities and federal
under normal circumstances’.
India, is described as ‘a union of states’ where the union is
‘indestructible’ but not the constituent states because their contour and
identity can be ‘altered’ or even ‘obliterated’.
The framers of Constitution feared that a more potent federalism in
India would weaken the national unity and will create an impasse for the
‘social revolution’.

 Influence of the ideas of Ian Coupland and K.C. Wheare are evident in
the Constitution.
 Indian Constitution and the Government of India Act, 1935.
 Deliberate omission of the word ‘federal’ and declaration of India as an
‘union of states’.
 Elaboration on Centre-state relations and power distribution in the
Constitution to avoid friction.

Federalism in India
The federal nature of a political system is determined on the basis of five criteria:
 Dual or two sets of government- one at the Centre and other at the state levels;
 Written Constitution;
 Supremacy of the Constitution;
 Rigidity of the Constitution, and
 The authority of the courts as regards the interpretation of the constitutional provisions.
Indian Federalism was framed in a way to meet ‘the local needs and local
circumstances’, but at the same time to have uniformity in all the basic matters
which are essential to maintain the unity of the country.
Three important means of holding the country were identified:
 a single judiciary;
 uniformity in fundamental laws, civil and criminal; and
 a common All India Civil Service to man important posts.
The federal system that supported unwarranted centralization of power appeared to
be the most suitable alternative for nation building during India’s independence.

The Federal Arrangement: Its Evolution
The British colonial rule introduced federalism in phases, partly in response to the
nationalist demand for decentralization of power and partly to implement the liberal
principle of ‘self-rule’ in colonies.
Two major constitutional inputs from the colonial past seem to be critical in the
evolution of federalism in India.
 The 1918 Montague-Chelmsford Report on constitutional reforms; later, the 1929
Simon Commission Report strongly argued for decentralization of authorities among
the constituent provinces and also made a strong plea for a federal constitution.
 The Government of India Act, 1935 mandated the distribution of legislative
jurisdictions with the three-fold division of powers into federal, provincial, and
concurrent lists and furthermore, led to the establishment of a federal court and sharing
of revenue.
 Congress Report of 1928 endorsement of regional grouping on the basis of distinct
cultural traits, including language.

The Federal Arrangement
Indian federalism characterizes a distinct case of ‘asymmetrical’ federalism in which
some of the units are accorded weightage.
 Universal asymmetry with regard to the constituent provinces because they are
represented in Rajya Sabha on the basis of their demographic strength.
 There are specific asymmetries as regards administration of tribal areas, intra-state
regional disparities, law and order situation and fixing the number of seats, as per
Article 371 of the Constitution.
 The areas identified as union territories, enjoy special constitutional status.
 Last, there is a stark asymmetry vis-à-vis Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, and Mizoram
under Article 370 (Repealed) and Article 371 respectively.
Federalism in India is constantly reinvented and the governing principles are thus
regularly redefined.
The federalization process has been augmented by the more active role of the new
incumbents of federal institutions- the President, the Election Commission, and the
SC of India.

The shape of things for independent India were framed based on the previous
experiences, the state of things at the time of independence, particularly concerning
the unity and integrity of the nation.
Adoption of the doctrine of ‘cooperative federalism’ as the guiding spirit to avoid
conflict between Centre and the states.
With no parallel example in the world, the Indian Constitution created a federal
polity in the country with a strong Central Government with branding India as a
‘Union of States’ instead of a federation, which Ambedkar explained:
 The Drafting Committee wanted to make it clear that though India was to be federation,
the federation was not the result of an agreement by the states to join in a federation,
and that the federation not being the result of an agreement, no state has the right to
secede from it. The federation is a Union because it is indestructible.

Avoided the ‘tight mold of federalism’ so that it could become both unitary as well
as federal according to the requirements of time and circumstances.
The words of Rajendra Prasad brings out the perceptions of framers about the nature
of federal polity,
 Whether you call it a federal constitution or a unitary constitution, or by any other
name… it makes no difference so long as the constitution serves our purpose.
Changing contours of Indian federalism over the last seven decades.
 Early formative years under Nehru;
 Indira Gandhi’s reformative steps through 24th and 25th constitutional amendments.
 Coalition politics and shift in power structures.
Federalism is no longer a constitutional format of distribution of power, but a
process that is being constantly reinvented in view of the rapidly changing socio-
economic and political circumstances in which it is rooted should be known by its
functional dynamics rather than its institutional orientation.

 Bommai Judgment- Article 356 and Judicial Review.
 Changing nature of Indian federalism through the emergence of new governmental
structures like PRIs, NDC, ISC, etc.

Concluding Observations
Changing circumstances has induced changes in India’s politico-constitutional
structures.
Single party to coalition politics has brought in subsequent changes with in the
system.
Parliamentary federalism is a unique hybrid system of governance in which the
apparently contradictory tendencies are sought to be managed.
This is essentially a hybrid system of governance that has emerged due to a peculiar
unfolding of sociopolitical processes in the aftermath of India’s rise as a nation-
state.
Parliamentary federalism is therefore not merely a structural device for distribution
of powers between different layers of government it is also an articulation of a basic
philosophy accommodating diverse regional interests in the name of a nation.

Indian Parliament
Parliament of India, Its Composition,
and Changing Socio-economic Profile
Unit 6

Introduction
Constituting the cardinal precept of parliamentary democracy, the Parliament stands
at the core of the institutional arrangement envisaged by the Constitution of India to
ensure a democratic polity in the country.
 Adopting parliamentary system of governance was a thoughtful choice by the
framers of constitution.
 As pointed out by Austin,
 Popular government as a mechanism to achieve the objective the unity of the country
through having universal adult suffrage, and by providing for the direct representation
of the voters.
 The capability of the parliamentary system appeared to accommodate all sorts of
imperatives bothering the Constitution-makers on the eve of Independence.
 Parliament as a institution with an operational guarantee in ensuring unscathed
functioning of federalism by bringing about a harmonious co-existence of the centre
and the states.

Limitations/Features of Indian Parliament
Indian Parliament as a distinct and unique institution of its own kind.
The functional domain of the Parliament is circumscribed through different
provisions of the Constitution.
Demarcation of the law-making powers of the Parliament in India into two
branches- constitutional and statutory laws.
Provision for an independent judiciary and its influence on the Parliament.
 The adoption of the American doctrine of separation of powers and the principle of
checks and balances infused in a faint degree.

Composition of the Parliament
Indian Parliament comprises of the President of India and the two Houses, namely,
the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People).
President
President plays a pivotal role in the structure and functions of all the institutions
including the Parliament.
Executive Powers and Functions of President of India
 The Prime Minister and on his advice other Ministers of the Union
 Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
 Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners
 Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission
 State Governors; Administrators of Union Territories
 Finance Commission of India chairman and members
 Appointment of Chief Justice and Supreme Court/High Court Judges
 National Commission of Backward Classes; National Commission of Scheduled Caste; National
Commission of Schedule Tribe.

Legislative Powers of President
 Right to summons or prorogues Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha.
 Joint Sitting of Parliament
 Joint Address to Parliament
 Nomination Powers
 Prior Approvals to Certain Bills
 Disqualifications of MP
 Ordinance Making Power
 Laying Reports in Parliament.
Financial Powers of President
 Money Bills
 Administration of Contingency Fund of India
 Introduction of Annual Budgets

Judicial Powers of President
 Pardoning power
Diplomatic Powers of President
Military Powers of President
Emergency Powers of President
 National Emergency (Article 352)
 President’s Rule (Article 356 & 365)
 Financial Emergency (Article 360)

Rajya Sabha
Two theoretical propositions were advanced to hammer out the usefulness of the
second chamber.
 The provision of a second chamber to be as a custodian of interests of the units of the federation
and maintain the sanctity of the federal system.
 To provide an opportunity for reconsideration of legislation in a ‘somewhat cooler atmosphere’.
The aim of RS is to have a superior quality of debate and discussion on matters of
national importance.
House functions on a permanent basis with one-third of its members retiring every
two years.
Position of Rajya Sabha in the Indian political system, compromised and unique in
terms of powers and functions.
The structure and functions of the Rajya Sabha have been subjected to critique for
both its faulty structure making it weak, and excessive clout in the functioning of
legislative system in India.

Rajya Sabha
 provision of nomination of members is criticized as undemocratic.
 the inequality of membership from various states, depending on their population undermine the
logic of the second chamber as the protector of state interests especially of the smaller ones.
 Questions on the credibility of the house in its capability of blocking the passage of a bill despite
been elected through an indirect election process.
 Growing significance of Rajya Sabha with escalating regionalization and
federalization of the political system.
 Role of RS as a chamber to illuminate the visions of the members through
dignified and responsive debates and also the views of the Chairperson.
 The Rajya Sabha has served three more useful purposes:
 It creates additional political positions which are in growing demand by the political elites of the
country;
 It ensures some additional debating opportunities, which occasionally becomes quite urgent;
 It helps in doling out the solutions to the legislative timetable problems.

Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha is the representative chamber of the Indian Parliament with its members
elected directly by the people from the territorial constituencies of the states and the
union territories distributed all over the country.
 Chosen for a term of five years to begin with, the Lok Sabha can be dissolved by
the President under certain exigencies.
 The Lok Sabha is presided over by the Speaker, and is assisted by a Deputy
Speaker in the functioning of the House and conducting its proceedings.
The Lok Sabha has been placed at a superior pedestal than the Upper House in
respect of those spheres of activities which underpin the notion of parliamentary
democracy.
 Money bill and vote of no confidence motion.

Changing Socio-economic Profile
Major concern was to ensure that the Parliament should represent all sorts of
socioeconomic interests of the society.
Parliament to be a microcosm of India with to secure, as far as possible, the
presence of all sorts of differentiations found amongst the people in every nook and
corner of the country.
The profile of the Parliament has undergone a substantive transformation in the last
seven decades.
 Upper socio-economic strata to the grassroot level;
 Shift in terms of educational criteria.
 The reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
 Changes in the composition along the lines of profession.
Emergence of distinct class of social elites among the backward classes.
Representation of women in the Parliament has remained, by and large, marginal.

Unfortunately, changing socio-economic profile of the Parliament has apparently
failed to add substance and depth in the standard of parliamentary proceedings and
the quality of legislative output despite broadening the representational base.
Apprehensions about the functioning of Parliament in the recent years.

Source:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new
s/politics-and-nation/no-decision-yet-on-
legislation-for-50-womens-reservation-in-
ulbs-govt/articleshow/63487060.cms

Source:
A sliver of hope for women

Source:
Professionals in politics

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES
Born in the British parliamentary traditions, these committees were expected to
infuse the virtues of efficiency, effectiveness, expeditiousness, and expertise in the
performance of the functions by the Parliament.
Acting as the eyes and ears of the Parliament, the committees are useful in offsetting
the bulk of load of the Parliament, securing an in-depth and expert analysis of
legislative proposals, ensuring a harmonious working between the two Houses of
the Parliament, and affording a platform to the common people to participate in the
decision-making of the Parliament.
The Parliament has created numerous ad hoc and standing committees, the
prominent of the former type includes the select committees and joint committees.
More gives a five-fold categorization:
 committees to inquire like the Committee on Petitions and the Committee on
Privileges,
 committees to scrutinize like the Committee on Government Assurances and the
Committee on Subordinate Legislation,

 committee of an administrative character relating to the business of the House like the
Committee on the Absence of Members,
 committees dealing with the provisions of facilities to members like the General
Purpose Committee and the House Committee, and
 the financial committees, such as, the Estimates Committee, the Public Accounts
Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings.

The role of Committees
 A parliamentary committee means a committee appointed by the house or
nominated by the speaker.
Two kinds of Parliamentary Committees – Standing Committees and Ad Hoc
Committees.
Standing committees are the committees which are appointed every year and ad hoc
committees are appointed whenever the need arises.
Committee system is advantageous in carrying out its functions efficiently and
effectively.
The main functions of the committee are investigative, deliberative and
recommendatory.
Deliberative functions of the committees include discussion on material collected
and drawing certain conclusions pertaining to policy formulation.

The role of Committees
The functioning of the committees is informal and flexible.
Committees keep a vigil on the activities of the government agencies and make
necessary suggestions.

Estimates Committee
The motion for election of the first Estimates Committee was adopted by the
Provisional Parliament on 3rd April, 1950 and the Committee was elected on 10th
April 1950.
To examine the estimates included in the budget presented in the parliament and
suggests economies in public expenditure.
Estimates Committee has 30 members with all members taken from Lok Sabha.
Members of the committee are elected from LS based on principle of Proportional
Representation by the means of a single transferable vote.
Lok Sabha speaker is the authority to appoint the chairman of the Estimates
Committee.

Estimates Committee
The functions of the Committee shall be-
 It reports if the budget estimates affect economies, improvements in organisation,
efficiency and administrative reform consistent with the policy
 to suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in
administration;
 to examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in
the estimates; and
 to suggest the form in which the estimates shall be presented to Parliament.
Estimates Committee, over the years plays an important role in ensuring the
effectiveness of the Parliament.
The Committee members invite official, as well as non-official experts, if a
technical matter comes up for discussion and the members find themselves in
a helpless situation.

Limitations of Estimates Committee
In the Indian Constitution, there are a few limitations put forth for the Estimates
Committee. Those limitations are given below:
 The power to examine the budget estimates is not an absolute one. The committee can
only examine the budget after it is voted upon and not before that.
 Nowhere the power to question the policies of the Parliament has been conferred upon
the committee.
 All the recommendations made by the committee are advisory in nature and stand non-
binding for the parliament.
 In a year, the committee does not examine the budgets of all the ministries/departments.

Public Accounts Committee
 Considered as the ‘twin sister’ of the Estimates Committee, the Public Accounts
Committee acts in tandem with the former.
Though initiated in 1923 itself, the Committee became truly parliamentary
committee in the post-Independence period when two substantial changes took place
in its structure and function:
 increasing its membership to twenty-two, seven members of the Rajya Sabha are also made the
members of the Committee;
 the CAG is made an adjunct of the Committee to facilitate the streamlining of its functioning
To examine the annual audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
(CAG), which are laid before the Parliament by the Presiden
The sole purpose to do this is to bring out cases of waste, loss, corruption,
extravagance, inefficiency, and nugatory expenses.
 Member of the Opposition as the chairperson of the Committee.

Public Accounts Committee
 It scrutinizes the audit reports of CAG to satisfy itself that:
 The money that has been disbursed was legally available for the applied service or
purpose
 The expenditure conforms to the authority that governs it
 Every re-appropriation has been made in accordance with the related rules
Committee introduces the element of deterrence in the minds of the officials to
desist from probable wastage and wrong appropriation of the precious public
resources.

Committee on Public Undertakings
 Outcome of the massive increase in the governmental involvement in the economic
activities.
Committee consists of twenty-two members drawn from the two Houses in the ratio
of fifteen and seven for the duration of one year.
Functions:
 to examine the reports and accounts of Public Undertakings specified in the Fourth Schedule to
the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha ;
 to examine the reports, if any, of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the Public
Undertakings ;
 to examine, in the context of the autonomy and efficiency of the Public Undertakings whether
the affairs of the Public Undertakings are being managed in accordance with sound business
principles and prudent commercial practices ; and
 to exercise such other functions vested in the Public Accounts Committee and the Estimates
Committee in relation to the Public Undertakings as are not covered by clauses (a).

Standing Subject Committees
 The growing complexity and volume of the work compelled the formation of
departmentally related standing committees to secure an effective oversight over the
entire spectrum of the concerned department.
Committees consists of forty-five members each, drawn in the ratio of thirty from
the Lok Sabha and fifteen from the Rajya Sabha.
 The functioning of these committees has, more or less, revolutionized the way
parliamentary control was exercised on the executive in the country.
The existence of the Standing Committees inspire the executive to become quite
accurate, balanced, fine-tuned, and progressive in formulating the policy and
presenting the demand for grants to the Lok Sabha.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
 In the framework of the parliamentary democracy in India, the Parliament becomes
the central institution of governance on whose successful functioning depends the
whole structure of the government.
Failure of parliament in being a watch dog on the activities of the executive.
Effectiveness on the functioning of the parliament .
Commendable role of standing subject committees in ensuring greater degree of
transparency and accountability in the functioning of executive.

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