Evolve new system for stability: Rane

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Evolve new system for stability: Rane




Sandesh Prabhudesai
Sandesh-2guz2n7SqWlBDgjK7y7TUQ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Goa - India.
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 Cou
rt 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.


Posted by----rene barreto