An Endangered Species C. K. Jain
Shri C K Jain is a retired Secretary General of the Parliament. He had observed many great parliamentarians of the nation during his long career in the Parliament. Shri Jain thinks that a parliamentarian like Ram Naik is now an endangered species.
In a democratic representative polity as we in India have, it is important to win in an electoral battle for getting entry to the directly-elected legislature - the Legislative Assembly of a State or the Lok Sabha of the Union Parliament. However, it is more important to prove to be truly a people’s representative and that is possible only when the elected representative echoes the voice of the people represented. The representative has always to be mindful of the urges and aspirations of his constituents and this primary duty can be forgotten only at the peril of losing his people’s support.
The Role of a People’s Representative
The role of a people’s representative is manifold, the first and foremost, as stated above, is to echo the voice of his constituents irrespective of who voted him and who did not. Once elected, he represents the whole constituency. In one way he represents the whole country. He is an important link between the constituents and the Government whose policies and programmes are transmitted by him to the people. Not only does he acquaint the people about the various policies, programmes and schemes but also, if necessary, moulds the public opinion in the larger interest of the country. His other allegiances, no less important, are: (i) to the political party on whose symbol he seeks and gets the people’s mandate; (ii) to the country; and, the last but not the least, (iii) to his own conscience. The function of the Parliament in the present complex society is no longer limited to making laws alone but also to scrutinizing
1
and approving the government, its plans and policies, their formulation and execution, and to acting as a watchdog over the functioning of the government entrusted with governance. Hence the task of an MP is onerous, requiring his total involvement in the parliamentary proceedings on the floor as well as in its committees with dedication and diligence, even sacrificing his / her own personal comforts and freedom.
statistics, reflected not only his concern for the fixed salaried segment of the society but also his in-depth study of the issue. The then Finance Minister, Madhu Dandavate, appreciated Ram Naik’s argument in his reply and assured the House that his Ministry would seriously consider the question of reconstituting the price index taking into account the price rise and the benefit to which employees would be entitled.
It can be stated without any fear of contradiction that Ram Naik ji has had a distinguished parliamentary career fulfilling all the aforesaid required attributes. Before being elected to Lok Sabha in 1989, he had to his credit the long experience of a legislator as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly since 1978. He was re-elected to the State Assembly in 1980 and 1985, raising his voting tally every time. After his entry in the Lok Sabha in 1989, he was re-elected from the same parliamentary constituency, viz. Mumbai North, in 1991, 1996, 1998 and again in 1999, setting an enviable record indeed ! As an Officer of the House (Lok Sabha), this writer has had the privilege of observing Shri Naik’s performance during his first two tenures as a member on the opposition benches. In his maiden speech in Lok Sabha on 26th December 1989, Ram Naik ji focused on the need to link the price index with the retail prices at which the common consumer makes the purchases for his basic needs. He argued that the price index at which dearness allowance to employees is fixed is unrealistic causing them loss, and gain to the industrialists and capitalists. He urged the government to reconstitute the price index to ensure that the salaried class gets their dearness allowance neutralizing the reduction in their purchasing power owing to rising prices. His speech, buttressed by cogent arguments and
Most of the legislative proposals for enactment emanate from the government. Members other than ministers can also take legislative initiative by way of what is known as the Private Member Bill. Ram Naik ji introduced a number of bills including suggesting an amendment to the Constitution of India. One of the bills was introduced by him on the 19th of July 1991 with the title The Infant Foods and Feeding Bottles (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution ) Bill 1991 successfully journeyed through ballot and was discussed on the 2nd and the 30th of August, 1991. The Bill sought to provide for the regulation of the production, the supply and the distribution of infant foods and feeding bottles with a view to protect and promote breast feeding. Agreeing with the principle of the Bill, the concerned Minister in his reply to the debate requested Ram Naik ji to withdraw the bill, with the assurance that a comprehensive bill on the subject will be brought by the government. Accordingly, the Government introduced The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution )Bill 1992 which was passed by the Lok Sabha on the 20th of August and by the Rajya Sabha on the 2nd of December 1992 and received presidential assent on the 29th of December, 1992 to be an Act.
Ram Naik - Distinguished Parliamentarian
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Private Member Bill
3
Forum of Committee on Petitions
Ram Naik ji indeed set an example in securing justice to villagers displaced for setting up Tarapur Atomic Power Plant projects, using the forum of the Lok Sabha and its Committee on Petitions, in preference to the usual approach of organizing agitations which sometimes even turn violent. On the 24th of July 1991, during the discussion of a starred question (no. 121) by Shri Bhogendra Jha asking for the details of atomic power plants proposed to be set up during the Eighth Plan, Ram Naik ji took the opportunity through the following supplementary question to raise this longstanding grievance of his constituents: “Mr. Speaker, Sir, Tarapur is in my North-Mumbai constituency. TAPP- I and TAPP-II units were constructed some 25 years ago and TAPP-III and TAPP-IV are under consideration. Problem with these two plants is that the villagers there have a grievance and they say that for the land which was acquired 25 years ago, no settlement has yet been reached with regard to that. So, there is a lot of discontentment in giving the land. Will the Minister assure us that in view of this discontentment, the land problems will be settled in a time-bound programme of 4 or 5 months so that the land could be made available for III and IV Plants in a convenient way? “
4
Minister Smt. Margaret Alva replied: “I don’t think these details I can answer straightaway. You have to give me notice but I will look into anything that is pending.” Ram Naik ji pursued the matter asking a further question which was admitted for a written answer on the 11th of December, 1991. Before that he wrote to the Prime Minister as well. On the 18th of December 1992, he presented a petition in the Lok Sabha which was examined by its Committee on Petitions. The Committee in its Twelfth Report presented to the Lok
Sabha on 3rd May 1994 observed, “that a workable satisfactory rehabilitation package acceptable to all the parties would be arrived at soon and implemented as early as possible ….” Ram Naik ji continued the struggle till the problem was solved and the displaced got justice. The Prime Minister in his letter of the 5th of January 2005 addressed to Ram Naik ji detailed the steps taken.
Member to Member Question
Yet another interesting instance. Lok Sabha rule 40 allows one member asking a question from another ‘..…. provided the subject matter of the question relates to some bill, resolution or other matter connected with the business of the House for which that member is responsible…’ On the 6th of September 1990, Ram Naik ji answered a question related to his private member bill The Constitution (Amendment ) Bill, 1989 introduced in the Lok Sabha on 20th December 1989 seeking the word ‘India’ in article 1 of the Constitution to be substituted with ‘ Hindustan’ . Clarifying the purpose of the bill, he replied , “ The word ‘Hindu’ has a cherished , broad- based, progressive, cultural and religious history. The name of ‘Hindustan’ would accelerate the process of national integration and would enable curbing of fissiparous tendencies which have crept in recently.” Perhaps this was the second occasion of invoking this rule, the first was by Prof. Madhu Limaye.
Vande Mataram, M.P. Fund, etc
Another laudable initiative of Ram Naik ji was his suggestion that the Lok Sabha session should begin with the national song ‘Vande Mataram’. The Lok Sabha General Purposes Committee, comprising of party leaders, parliamentary committees chairmen and others, headed by the Lok Sabha Speaker, finally decided 5
that the national anthem should be sung at the beginning of the session and the ‘national song’ should be sung on conclusion. The Rajya Sabha, too, decided to follow the practice.
Member of Parliament Local Area Development - MPLAD Scheme (M.P. Fund) owes its introduction to the incessant efforts of Ram Naik ji. Inside as well as outside the House, he pleaded and ultimately succeeded. Besides his participation in the regular debates on bills, resolutions, motions, budget, etc. he also raised important public issues under rule 377, special mention or the so-called zero hour. As the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, he guided the deliberations with erudition and sagacity, presenting eight reports in a year. As his party whip, he used his persuasive skill best and mostly succeeded, his party members refraining from rushing to the well of the House or from breaching the rules of debate.
Ram Naik – An Endangered Species
Today, when the Houses of Parliament and the State Legislatures often witness disorderly scenes, shouting slogans, indecent use of lung power or even muscle power, short statements blurted out replacing well-studied and researched speeches, unwarranted shows of temper, robbing the solemnity and dignity of the Houses and forfeiting the very object of having the democratic institutions, Ram Naik ji and the like are becoming an endangered species. Should our present representatives care to unlearn some of their bad habits and learn a little from Ram Naik ji and the like, good will it be for our institutions and the country if we are to survive as a nation. C. K. Jain
A 47, 2nd Floor, Haus Khaas, New Delhi 110016. email: ckjain34@gmail.com 6
7
An Endangered Species C. K. Jain
Shri C K Jain is a retired Secretary General of the Parliament. He had observed many great parliamentarians of the nation during his long career in the Parliament. Shri Jain thinks that a parliamentarian like Ram Naik is now an endangered species.
In a democratic representative polity as we in India have, it is important to win in an electoral battle for getting entry to the directly-elected legislature - the Legislative Assembly of a State or the Lok Sabha of the Union Parliament. However, it is more important to prove to be truly a people’s representative and that is possible only when the elected representative echoes the voice of the people represented. The representative has always to be mindful of the urges and aspirations of his constituents and this primary duty can be forgotten only at the peril of losing his people’s support.
The Role of a People’s Representative
2
The role of a people’s representative is manifold, the first and foremost, as stated above, is to echo the voice of his constituents irrespective of who voted him and who did not. Once elected, he represents the whole constituency. In one way he represents the whole country. He is an important link between the constituents and the Government whose policies and programmes are transmitted by him to the people. Not only does he acquaint the people about the various policies, programmes and schemes but also, if necessary, moulds the public opinion in the larger interest of the country. His other allegiances, no less important, are: (i) to the political party on whose symbol he seeks and gets the people’s mandate; (ii) to the country; and, the last but not the least, (iii) to his own conscience. The function of the Parliament in the present complex society is no longer limited to making laws alone but also to scrutinizing
3
and approving the government, its plans and policies, their formulation and execution, and to acting as a watchdog over the functioning of the government entrusted with governance. Hence the task of an MP is onerous, requiring his total involvement in the parliamentary proceedings on the floor as well as in its committees with dedication and diligence, even sacrificing his / her own personal comforts and freedom.
Ram Naik - Distinguished Parliamentarian
It can be stated without any fear of contradiction that Ram Naik ji has had a distinguished parliamentary career fulfilling all the aforesaid required attributes. Before being elected to Lok Sabha in 1989, he had to his credit the long experience of a legislator as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly since 1978. He was re-elected to the State Assembly in 1980 and 1985, raising his voting tally every time. After his entry in the Lok Sabha in 1989, he was re-elected from the same parliamentary constituency, viz. Mumbai North, in 1991, 1996, 1998 and again in 1999, setting an enviable record indeed ! As an Officer of the House (Lok Sabha), this writer has had the privilege of observing Shri Naik’s performance during his first two tenures as a member on the opposition benches. In his maiden speech in Lok Sabha on 26th December 1989, Ram Naik ji focused on the need to link the price index with the retail prices at which the common consumer makes the purchases for his basic needs. He argued that the price index at which dearness allowance to employees is fixed is unrealistic causing them loss, and gain to the industrialists and capitalists. He urged the government to reconstitute the price index to ensure that the salaried class gets their dearness allowance neutralizing the reduction in their purchasing power owing to rising prices. His speech, buttressed by cogent arguments and 4
5
statistics, reflected not only his concern for the fixed salaried segment of the society but also his in-depth study of the issue. The then Finance Minister, Madhu Dandavate, appreciated Ram Naik’s argument in his reply and assured the House that his Ministry would seriously consider the question of reconstituting the price index taking into account the price rise and the benefit to which employees would be entitled.
Private Member Bill
Most of the legislative proposals for enactment emanate from the government. Members other than ministers can also take legislative initiative by way of what is known as the Private Member Bill. Ram Naik ji introduced a number of bills including suggesting an amendment to the Constitution of India. One of the bills was introduced by him on the 19th of July 1991 with the title The Infant Foods and Feeding Bottles (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution ) Bill 1991 successfully journeyed through ballot and was discussed on the 2nd and the 30th of August, 1991. The Bill sought to provide for the regulation of the production, the supply and the distribution of infant foods and feeding bottles with a view to protect and promote breast feeding. Agreeing with the principle of the Bill, the concerned Minister in his reply to the debate requested Ram Naik ji to withdraw the bill, with the assurance that a comprehensive bill on the subject will be brought by the government. Accordingly, the Government introduced The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution )Bill 1992 which was passed by the Lok Sabha on the 20th of August and by the Rajya Sabha on the 2nd of December 1992 and received presidential assent on the 29th of December, 1992 to be an Act. 6
7
Forum of Committee on Petitions
Ram Naik ji indeed set an example in securing justice to villagers displaced for setting up Tarapur Atomic Power Plant projects, using the forum of the Lok Sabha and its Committee on Petitions, in preference to the usual approach of organizing agitations which sometimes even turn violent. On the 24th of July 1991, during the discussion of a starred question (no. 121) by Shri Bhogendra Jha asking for the details of atomic power plants proposed to be set up during the Eighth Plan, Ram Naik ji took the opportunity through the following supplementary question to raise this longstanding grievance of his constituents: “Mr. Speaker, Sir, Tarapur is in my North-Mumbai constituency. TAPP- I and TAPP-II units were constructed some 25 years ago and TAPP-III and TAPP-IV are under consideration. Problem with these two plants is that the villagers there have a grievance and they say that for the land which was acquired 25 years ago, no settlement has yet been reached with regard to that. So, there is a lot of discontentment in giving the land. Will the Minister assure us that in view of this discontentment, the land problems will be settled in a time-bound programme of 4 or 5 months so that the land could be made available for III and IV Plants in a convenient way? “
8
Minister Smt. Margaret Alva replied: “I don’t think these details I can answer straightaway. You have to give me notice but I will look into anything that is pending.” Ram Naik ji pursued the matter asking a further question which was admitted for a written answer on the 11th of December, 1991. Before that he wrote to the Prime Minister as well. On the 18th of December 1992, he presented a petition in the Lok Sabha which was examined by its Committee on Petitions. The Committee in its Twelfth Report presented to the Lok
9
Sabha on 3rd May 1994 observed, “that a workable satisfactory rehabilitation package acceptable to all the parties would be arrived at soon and implemented as early as possible ….” Ram Naik ji continued the struggle till the problem was solved and the displaced got justice. The Prime Minister in his letter of the 5th of January 2005 addressed to Ram Naik ji detailed the steps taken.
Member to Member Question
Yet another interesting instance. Lok Sabha rule 40 allows one member asking a question from another ‘..…. provided the subject matter of the question relates to some bill, resolution or other matter connected with the business of the House for which that member is responsible…’ On the 6th of September 1990, Ram Naik ji answered a question related to his private member bill The Constitution (Amendment ) Bill, 1989 introduced in the Lok Sabha on 20th December 1989 seeking the word ‘India’ in article 1 of the Constitution to be substituted with ‘ Hindustan’ . Clarifying the purpose of the bill, he replied , “ The word ‘Hindu’ has a cherished , broad- based, progressive, cultural and religious history. The name of ‘Hindustan’ would accelerate the process of national integration and would enable curbing of fissiparous tendencies which have crept in recently.” Perhaps this was the second occasion of invoking this rule, the first was by Prof. Madhu Limaye.
Vande Mataram, M.P. Fund, etc
Another laudable initiative of Ram Naik ji was his suggestion that the Lok Sabha session should begin with the national song ‘Vande Mataram’. The Lok Sabha General Purposes Committee, comprising of party leaders, parliamentary committees chairmen and others, headed by the Lok Sabha Speaker, finally decided 10
11
that the national anthem should be sung at the beginning of the session and the ‘national song’ should be sung on conclusion. The Rajya Sabha, too, decided to follow the practice.
Member of Parliament Local Area Development - MPLAD Scheme (M.P. Fund) owes its introduction to the incessant efforts of Ram Naik ji. Inside as well as outside the House, he pleaded and ultimately succeeded. Besides his participation in the regular debates on bills, resolutions, motions, budget, etc. he also raised important public issues under rule 377, special mention or the so-called zero hour. As the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, he guided the deliberations with erudition and sagacity, presenting eight reports in a year. As his party whip, he used his persuasive skill best and mostly succeeded, his party members refraining from rushing to the well of the House or from breaching the rules of debate.
Ram Naik – An Endangered Species
Today, when the Houses of Parliament and the State Legislatures often witness disorderly scenes, shouting slogans, indecent use of lung power or even muscle power, short statements blurted out replacing well-studied and researched speeches, unwarranted shows of temper, robbing the solemnity and dignity of the Houses and forfeiting the very object of having the democratic institutions, Ram Naik ji and the like are becoming an endangered species. Should our present representatives care to unlearn some of their bad habits and learn a little from Ram Naik ji and the like, good will it be for our institutions and the country if we are to survive as a nation. C. K. Jain
A 47, 2nd Floor, Haus Khaas, New Delhi 110016. email: ckjain34@gmail.com 12
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