Evolve
new system for stability: Rane
Sandesh Prabhudesai
28 April 2003
Pratapsing Rane, 64-year old veteran politician of Goa, is
the state opposition leader today, belonging to the Congress
party. After ruling the state consistently for 10 years since
1990, he was the first victim of the defection game that began
in 1990. In spite of this, he once again became the chief
minister of the eighth Assembly in 1994 and ruled for three
and a half years, to be toppled once again.
He was the chief minister twice during the decade that witnessed
13 chief ministers with two premature dissolutions of Goa's
40-member Assembly. He was then elected the speaker of the
ninth Assembly, indirectly supporting the BJP government by
not deciding on the disqualification petitions against those
who had split from his Congress party. The then opposition
BJP had come to power by engineering defections in Rane's
Congress.
After being in active politics for the last 32 years, one
of the most experienced US-returned agriculturist-turned-politician
reacts quite sharply to the union cabinet's decision to amend
the anti-defection act. He was the first one to face the brunt
in 1990, soon after the legislation came into being. Nevertheless,
still, he has different views when the centre plans to plug
in the loopholes in the tenth schedule of the Indian constitution.
Excerpts of his interview:
goanews: Mr Rane, how do you view the union cabinet decision
to delete the clause that gives powers to one-third legislators
to legally split as well as to trim down the ministry size
to one tenth of the size of the Assembly or the Parliament?
Rane: Well, the decision of the union cabinet is not everything.
By the time it comes as an amendment bill and passed by the
Parliament, it may undergo several changes.
goanews: Do you have any doubts that it would be passed or
have reservations about the proposed amendments?
Rane: I have no such doubts. Even the amendments are good
and necessary. However, I really do not believe that this
would solve the problem of defections or instability. For
me, it looks like a patchwork. The politicians will find new
loopholes and the game of instability will continue.
Instead of this, I feel the constitution amendment committee
needs to have a second look at the whole system of Parliamentary
democracy we are following. We are in the 21st century today,
where India is no more an island. We are part of the global
economy. We need to assess how we have been functioning as
a democracy, the state we are in, whether we are progressing
or still lagging behind and what are the reasons for the current
state of affairs.
We are in a coalition era today, not being provided with
stable governments. In France, they amended the constitution
due to instability. Same is the case with Italy. There is
no stability. Even in Goa, from 1963 to 1990, our six Assemblies
had only three chief ministers and three to four ministers.
But since 1990, this system has provided us with 13 chief
ministers and not a cabinet of less than 12 to 14 in a 40-member
House.
goanews: But you were heading the stable government for two
consecutive term in the pre-'90 era and were toppled within
75 days in the post-'90 era. Was it because your leadership
became weak later?
Rane: No, leadership is one issue. There is no ideology left
anymore. During our times, we had a specific socio-political
goal. Now what have come are the spoils of office. In fact,
it has now further extended to the concept of sharing of the
spoils. It is there from the panchayat level to the centre.
What we need at this stage is the stable, accountable and
responsible government. A new system needs to be evolved to
serve this purpose. The existing system cannot provide it.
goanews: What kind of system?
Rane: A system where stability is the main thing. For example,
any legislator should be given only two elected terms. Experience
and all such arguments should be rejected outrightly, so that
they do not become professional politicians and the game of
the spoils is lost. The Supreme Court has come down heavily
about the assets and educational qualifications. Make it a
law. Only a graduate or above should go to the Parliament
and similar criteria for the Assembly or even at the panchayat
level, with minimum educational qualification. In the 21st
century, we expect to deliver the goods and move ahead with
times and technology.
goanews: Do you mean to propose that elected bodies should
consist of only educated people?
Rane: Not exactly, because everybody is getting educated
today. But how will they understand if they are not educated?
Yesterday in the Assembly I was told that the cyber city is
an industrial estate. Finally, we need to remember that we
are working for the human beings and not simply to construct
the buildings and the roads.
In this system, the prime minister or the chief minister
should be elected directly by the people, for a maximum period
of two terms. He should be given a choice to select the experts
in different fields, who understand the subject, as his cabinet
ministers. He should have an authority to hire and fire. In
today's system, the prime minister cannot decide but somebody
sitting in Mumbai decides that Suresh Prabhu should not be
in the cabinet, in spite of the fact that he is honest and
competent. The PM or CM should be given full authority to
decide his cabinet.
goanews: It means you want the experts to rule the country.
What do the legislators do then?
Rane: They legislate, discuss peoples' problems and go home.
What are we doing as an opposition today? We oppose. Most
of the time, the government does not listen. We are now in
the 21st century. The government cannot be in the hands of
the bureaucrats all the time. It should also not remain in
the hands of politicians for too long, but only two terms.
goanews: Do you mean to say Goa would have benefited more
if you were not made the chief minister for the third time?
Rane: Definitely, some new person could have taken over.
I am here for the last 32 years. I am not very happy about
it. I wanted to pull out last time. You know, 90 per cent
of Americans do not allow new ones to come in. There begins
the exploitation process. They develop vested interests. They
develop likes and dislikes.
We have to work out a participatory kind of democracy, where
people have a say in decision-making on important policy matters.
You may call it semi-presidential kind of system. If you want
development, coalition governments cannot provide it. Even
choice of the cabinet is not left to the chief minister or
the prime minister.
I am getting the blame everyday from my colleagues, for sitting
idle all the time. But I am not for such kind of toppling
games. What will we benefit? Who will come with us? Why should
they (BJP) join you unless they are given the office of the
spoils? This is a trend everywhere. In Mumbai, the man who
split from Deshmukh's government changed his statement every
time, alleging kidnapping and then denying it. In Tamil Nadu,
MLAs are arrested under POTA for political gains.
goanews: Why is it happening? Do you think that politics,
which was a social service at one time, has become a business
today?
Rane: It is a money game. It is vested interest. It is partially
a business, you may say. Therefore it needs to be changed.
Let it be a business, otherwise. Let there be transparency
in it. Simple majority rule, with all kind of characters,
has no meaning.
goanews: In such a company of vested interests, do you think
that the powers to disqualify or requalify any member of the
House should be vested in the hands of the Speaker? Because
even you were the speaker for one term…
Rane: No, the speaker should not be the authority to decide
on disqualification petitions. The speaker cannot be a neutral
person, when he is elected on a party ticket. Having bias
towards his party is obvious. He can be neutral only when
any person, who becomes the speaker, is assured to be elected
unopposed next time with no party fielding any candidate against
him.
I personally feel that the authority to hear the disqualification
petitions and deliver a judgement should be handed over to
the judiciary. They are not the part of the legislature and
cannot have vested interest.
goanews: Are you thus coming to an ultimate conclusion that
the British Parliamentary system we have adopted has failed?
Rane: I would not say it has failed. But it is a fact it
does not work in a country like India anymore. Britain is
a homogenous country. We have so many Britains in one India.
It is a federal structure. People need to throw up a leader
of national stature. I would not say the system has failed.
But it needs total revamping.
Leaders like Vasant Sathe used to propagate the Presidential
system. Some people support a dictatorial system or army rule.
But one emergency has proved it beyond doubt that these are
not the solutions. It should be democracy, but evolved with
a new concept that is Indian and not imported.
Your
Comments Please
