Undermining the office of Speaker

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, APRIL 18. It is unfortunate enough that the Congress should continue to persist with a strategy that is calculated to demean and eventually delegitimise the very institution of Parliament, it is no less unfortunate that the ruling benches are doing their best to undermine the authority and prestige of the office of Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

It was nothing short of a scandal that the BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman, Mr. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, should have sought to arrogate to himself the functions of the Speaker. In his daily interaction with the media at Parliament House, Mr. Malhotra today unhesitatingly talked of only two options before the House if the stalemate was to be resolved: first, that the financial business be passed (presumably in the midst of predictable pandemonium) and then the House could be adjourned sine die; and, second, that the agitating Congress members be suspended, thereby restoring some order in the House.

That Mr. Malhotra deemed it necessary to voice his party's ``feelings'' in the matter is presumptuous, to say the least. The Government's job is to bring legislative proposals before the House, it is the responsibility of the Speaker to ensure order and debate in the House. Mr. Malhotra cannot encroach upon the Speaker's domain.

And the Speaker is not a partisan of the ruling party. He is the custodian of the autonomy, prestige and procedural integrity of the House. This task becomes all the more crucial at a time when no political party enjoys a majority and the ruling coalition itself is dependent upon uncertain support from its presumed allies. Transaction of legislative business, in this age of coalitions, becomes a matter of daily negotiation and bargain, never a simple matter of majority and minority.

It is for the Speaker to facilitate negotiation and bargaining among the various groups, especially between the ruling party and the principal Opposition party. Only a Speaker who is deemed to be acting independently, fairly and firmly can help the Government to get the cooperation of the Opposition.

Unfortunately the ruling party's parliamentary managers have been far from mindful of the deference and respect that is due to the office of the Speaker.

In the face of continued presumptuousness on the part of the ruling party, Mr. G.M.C.Balayogi has shown remarkable patience. But this is not a matter just between Mr. Balayogi and Mr. Pramod Mahajan, or between the BJP and the TDP. It is a matter of institutional prestige and respect for the office of the Speaker.

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