COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

CIA 3

Is Parliamentary form of Government good

enough for India?: Need for a Change

SUBMITTED BY
Name: Sanjana S Rao
Register No: 1316247
Class: 7 BA LLB C
ABSTRACT

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This paper attempts to illustrate the efficiency of Parliamentary form of democracy in the
Indian polity and culture. It also enunciates the comparison of it with the Presidential form of
democracy in U.S.A. This paper would emphasize on the factors that drove India to adopt the
Parliamentary system of government and how the Constitution of our country is conducive to
this political system. The researcher would analyze the impacts and repercussions if
Presidential form of government is adopted and practiced in India. Indians usually comment
against the existing political system and hence there are a lot of opinions and arguments both
for and against the existing form of democracy in the country. Due to the decline in the
efficiency of the Parliament as an institution of accountability, the purpose served by the
Parliamentary system, this issue has become a matter of great debate and discussion and
hence, the researcher took up this topic. This paper will assess the competency of the
Parliamentary system with respect to Presidential system in India by focusing on the
relationship between the Executive and the Legislature, mainly at the Union level.

INTRODUCTION

The Parliamentary system of government refers to a system of government having the

real executive power vested in a cabinet composed of members of the legislature who are
individually and collectively responsible to the legislature. 1That means it is a kind of
democracy where the executive and legislature are inter-connected and the former obtains
its democratic legitimacy2 from, and is held accountable to, the legislature and therefore, the
opposition always keeps it alert for it always lives in the shadow of a coming defeat.3

The emergency regime of Mrs. Indira Gandhi between 1975-1977 called for a serious
discussion over the form of government in India. The demand for the change came from the
supporters of the emergency regime who argued that the unrest and divisiveness in the
country that had preceded the declaration of a national emergency in June 1975 indicated

1 Definition according to http://www.merriam-webster.com, Last seen on 17/4/2014.

2 Arun Aggarwal, The Indian Parliament. Paper presented at the Conference on Public Institutions
in India: Performance and Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, February.

3 Devesh Kapur And Pratap Bhanu Mehta, The Indian Parliament As An Institution
Of Accountability.

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the failure of the parliamentary system.4 It was suggested that, in order to prevent the
recurrence of similar situations, India should adopt a stronger presidential rule in the country.

RATIONALE BEHIND ADOPTING PARLIAMENTARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN INDIA:

India adopted the Parliamentary form of democracy in the year 1947 since India has been
familiar with its working during the times of British Rule. The type of government that
functioned in India before independence in 1947 was very much similar to the British model
of parliamentary. The framers of the constitution were greatly influenced by the English
system. Therefore, the members of the Constituent Assembly decided to adopt this form of
government for the independent India. India is a nation deeply divided into several groups
with conflicting interests. All these varied groups are ensured representation in the
Parliament through this form of government.

As explained by K.M. Munshi in the Constituent Assembly, We must not forget a very
important fact that during the last one hundred years Indian public life has largely drawn
upon the traditions of the British Constitutional Law. Most of us and during the last several
generations before us, public men in India, have looked up to the British model as the best.
For the last thirty of forty years, some kind of responsibility has been introduced in the
governance of this country. Our constitutional traditions have become Parliamentary and we
have now all our Provinces functioning more or less on the British model. As a matter of fact,
today, the Dominion Government of India is functioning as a full-fledged Parliamentary
government.5

Besides Munshi, K. Santhanam, referring to the Presidential system in the U.S.A., too made it
clear that the presidential system the executive and legislature could be seen
at loggerheads because of their separation with each other and when they are at
loggerheads for a period of three or four years till either the legislature is renewed or the
president is re- elected, the whole thing will be a deadlock.6

4 Kul B. Rai, Should India change its parliamentary system?, As on 28/01/1981, http://
www.theHindu.com, Last seen on 17/4/2014.

5 Subir K. Bhatnagar, Need for Structural Changes in Indian Parliamentary Model I, Central Law
Quarterly

6 Ibid.

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The Constitution of India rejected the Presidential system as in the U.S.A. on the grounds
that under such a system, the Executive and the Legislatures are separate from and
independent of each other, which is likely to cause conflicts between them, which our infant
democracy could ill-afford to risk.

Therefore, the familiarity of the Indian polity with the working of the British system of
government, representation of diverse interest groups, fear of dead-lock between the
executive and legislature- all led to the adoption of the parliamentary system of government
in India by the Constituent Assembly.

ANALYSIS OF PARLIAMENTARY FORMS APPLICABILITY IN INDIA:

After establishing the main features and aspects relating to both the forms of government, its
now time to analyze the conditions relevant in India since independence, tracing the past
records and comparing it with that of Presidential system, hypothetically. India celebrated its
65th Republic day this year and it also amounted to more than 60 years or six decades of
parliamentary democracy in our country. Time and again, there have been certain issues
which have distorted the image of the current polity like that of corruption, scams, party-
politics, economic slugger, denial of welfare at the altar of self-interest of the legislature and
so on. This has led to a major doubt among the masses that whether the democracy really is
of the people, for the people and by the people. Analyzing the conditions that have
existedand what would have been the conditions had there been the presidential system, by
comparing it with that of other country, like that of France and analysis shall be made in its
case which opted from the prior Parliamentary system to the present semi-presidential
system.

According to Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian

Constitution too favored the Presidential form of government as he believed that A
Democratic Executive must be stable and responsible 7. However, the fulfillment of both
the conditions is not possible since in the case of America and Switzerland, the government is
more stable than responsible, while in Indian and British systems, the government is more
responsible and less stable. Over the past post-Independence years, there has been a change in
the political parties both in terms of quality and quantity.

7 Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Speech http://casenglishdepartment.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/dr-b-r-

ambedkars-speech/, Last seen on 1/5/2014.

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1951-52 saw the first general elections in our country under the new constitution with the
British Parliamentary system as its model. The Indian Congress won the elections absolutely
with only about 15% total voting. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of
our country. Looking at the economic aspect of our nation, since 1951, the emphasis was laid
down on heavy industries in order to make the manufacturing sector the backbone of the
Indian economy. The agricultural sector comprised 60% and service sector a mere 30% in the
50s. India was then at the beginning stage to emerge as a planned economy and it had started
its journey afresh in those days. There were a lot of hindrances to the development of the
economy including the political obstacles towards opening up to the world through
international trade. Main focus was laid down on the domestic industries and products in an
effort to pace the economic growth.

In 1971, the Congress government came back to power with majority having Mrs. Indira
Gandhi as the PM. Her regime turned out to be more of a dictatorial one than a democratic
system. She was found guilty of misusing her powers in the election process by the Allahabad
High Court. Our then President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared the Emergency under
Article 352 of the Indian Constitution. This proclamation gave the powers to the Union
Government to maintain and defend the law and order in the nation. Mrs. Indira Gandhi
postponed the national and state elections and suspended many of the civil liberties on the
grounds of threat to national security and crush of law and order in the country. The situation
was criminalized and became serious in those days. Protests, strikes, imprisonment,
postponements, arbitrary decisions and abuse of power characterized that era. However,
many socialist economic policies were introduced enhancing the industrial and agricultural
productivity and employment generation. Mrs. Gandhi called for elections in the year 1977,
and was defeated by the Janata Party. People wondered how Indian democracy could
survive, but it has strengthened8

1980s saw the death of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Congress Government coming back to power
and Rajiv Gandhi, being the youngest PM of India which brought a youthful insight in the
country as well as in the polity. The government attained an absolute majority of over 415
seats out of 545 in the Indian Parliament. Under his leadership, there was a relaxation of the

8 Sanjay Kumar, The Changing Face of Indian Legislative Assemblies, Published in the
year 2009, available at http://archive.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/the-unfolding-scenario-
of-indian-politics/, Last seen on 18/04/2014.

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economic policies and encouraged foreign investments through abolishment of license raj
system, restrictions on imports and foreign currency.

In 1991, there was an introduction of LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization)

policy of the government. Thus, 1990s saw the opening up of the Indian economy to the
global trade and investment and the rise of many regional based small parties. There were
short term governments in the Centre lasting for about less than a year or so. There were all
efforts made by the political parties to remain in the House in the form of coalitions.
Therefore, there were not much development in the late 1990s except for the commencement
of the bus service between India and Pakistan. However, there were certain political and
social indifferences between the two nationals owing to the increased infiltrations and
terrorist activities in both the countries.

The era of 2000s, saw an increase of the conflicts within the nation with a blend of politics
involved like that of Gujarat Godhra Riots. There were coalition governments formed under
the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then Dr. Manmohan Singh, the present PM of
India. There is a continuing process of economic liberalization in India and improvement of
friendly relations with other nations. There have been summits like G20 and Rio+20, of
which India has been a signatory, thereby achieving the objective of developing relations with
other countries and participation in the issues prevailing in the world.

In the recent years of 2010s, there has been a distorted image of Indian politics carved by the
ruling party, Indian National Congress. The years began with a number of scams and
scandals, namely, the Commonwealth Games scam, the 2G spectrum scam, the Coal-gate
scam and so on. Even the PM of India, including eminent leaders of the party came under the
scrutiny of the public. There have been recent campaigns launched by Anna Hazare, a social
activist as well as an introduction of a new party at the centre by Arvind Kejriwal, namely the
Aam Aadmi party (AAP) in November, 2012. Economically, India is still able to maintain its
strong position against recession. There are still further developments going on. There are
consultations for passing the Food Security Bill, the FDI is still pending for debate in the
House, the Jan Lokpal Bill has been passed by the Houses, Corporate Social Responsibility
made compulsory and many more. These developments are very much needed and desired for
the country, irrespective of the political scenario prevalent.

The conditions since independence have not been so good. Even today, one-third of worlds
poor are found in India. Although the life expectancy has increased to 62 years from 32 years

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since independence, the infant-mortality rate which is 50 deaths per 1000 births holds the
highest rate in the world. As per Pramod Paliwal, the secretary of the Jaipur-based Indian
Institute of Rural Development, a non-profit focusing on rural healthcare, Lack of
government spending is largely to blame for our ailing healthcare system, said. According
to a Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, India spends only
1% of its GDP in the healthcare sector. Because of lack of modernization of the Indian
economy, more than half of our population is still employed in the agricultural sector, making
it overburdened and less productive. India ranked 132 out of 187 countries on the UNDPs
gender inequality index in 2013. Literacy levels have increased from 16% in 1951 to about
74% in 2011 as per the statistics.

Summarizing the said developments, we see that while there was an absolute majority in the
legislature, there was stability and favorable political atmosphere for economic growth and
development of the country.

COMPARISON WITH THAT OF FRANCE:

Political Aspects:

The French Parliamentary system is different from the British or Indian Parliamentary
system. This change was brought by a change in the Constitution of the Fifth Republic in the
year 1958 and this was approved by a referendum on 28th September, 1958. This change has
increased and widened the powers of the Executive with respect to the Parliament. Under this
constitution, the French Republic President is directly elected by universal adult
suffrage for a 5-year term. Presidential election by the general people assures regular and
smooth functioning of the public duties of the state and its continuity. The President names
the Prime Minister, presides over the cabinet, determines and concludes policies of the State
with the assistance of the Council of Ministers, is the Commander-in-Chief of the countrys
Armed forces, and concludes treaties in his own name. The French citizens have a major say
in the policies or treaties or Acts or reforms of the Government relating to the economic,
social or environmental policy of the Nation, and to the public services contributing thereto,
or which provides for authorization to ratify a treaty which, although not contrary to the
Constitution, would affect the functioning of the institutions. 9Meanwhile, the Parliament too
has powers vested in it unlike the wholly Presidential system of Government. It still advices
the President and the PM is responsible for making the policies of the country. Also,
9 About the France http://about-france.com/geo/french-economy.htm, Last seen on 9/05/2014.

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immunity from prosecution, arrest or investigation for the discharge of public duties is
granted to the parliamentarians. It can be said that there is a mixture and clear distribution of
powers between the Parliament and the Executive. A balance can be seen between the two
sects of the Government.

Economic Aspects:

Coming to the economic aspects of the Republic of France, we find that France is
characterized by one of the developed economies of the world. It is also termed as a rogue
economy since the work force is usually on strike, businesses are played by all the powerful
unions and no free enterprises are allowed in the economy. But it is claimed by the French
government that this terminology is nothing but a myth and has been perpetrated by the
outside commentators and people who have never experienced the working of the French
economy and is a mere nomenclature used to sweep away all the strengths and exaggerate all
the weaknesses of the economy. It is the strongest economy of the world relating to the
sectors like automotive, aerospace, and railways. It is also seen in case of power generation,
cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, luxury goods, insurance, telecoms, defense, hospitality and
agriculture. France is also the worlds leading tourist destination. The labor market too is rich
having highest number of graduates, particularly, the science graduates per 1000 workers in
Europe.

After the Second World War, the French economy developed massively from a largely
agrarian economy with over 40% of the population still living on the land, into a modern
industrial economy with leading business leaders and corporations. In the years 1945 1975,
the French economy grew by an average of 4.1% in terms of GDP per inhabitant, much more
rapidly than the USA or the UK. The French Conservatives played an important role through
the establishment of a series of four year plans wherein the state set economic targets and
priorities, and left them onto the private enterprises to achieve or apply them. The rapid
development of the French motorway system is being achieved by public investment offset
by the sale of long-term concessions to private or semi-private companies to operate and
maintain them.10 As per the INSEE (Institut National de la Statistique et des tudes
conomiques), French government office of statistics, public spending in France is among

10 About the France http://about-france.com/geo/french-economy.htm, Last seen on

9/05/2014.

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the highest levels in the world, it reached 57.1% in 2013. Over the years, the French economy
has been victimized by the recession and its productivity and efficiency has considerably
fallen. Huge increase in budgets, followed by a colossal increase in taxes in the year 2013 is
one of the consequences of the fallen productivity of the French economy. However, the
situations are getting better as claimed by the French president. They are likely to improve by
the introduction of some of the reforms.

Politically, there have been no affects on the economy. This degradation of the economy was
due to the wave of recession in the whole world, of which the developed economies became
prey to. The government is friendly to the reforms relating to modernization of the French
economy. It became hugely unpopular owing to such reforms, but this did not affect the
step of the government towards modernization which is in the interest of the economy in the
long run. This is where we find a big difference between Indian and French Governments.

Contrasting the two conditions:

The above conditions prevailing in France are after the adoption of the new constitution for
the Fifth Republic having a more powerful President and increased role of the public in the
politics as well as in matters of great public concern. Contrasting to the conditions prevalent
in India, the legislators work only for the purpose of staying in office and holding power.
They are least bothered about the long term aspects of any reform or policy. The Opposition
opposes the policies of the government only for the sake of opposing the ruling party. They
do not look deep into the matter and seek for merits; rather they hold onto the superficial
flaws of the policies. Their duty is not to oppose but to check the public interest undermining
activities of the government.

In India, the president is nothing but a rubber stamp. He does not possess any real powers in
his hands except in rare situations. The President has no say in the policies of the
government. He is obliged to assent to the advice of the Council of Ministers. Also, the
people of India have no say in the election of the President. Their views are not taken into
account while the deliberations take place. As already stated, the opposition party opposes
only for the sake of opposing the ruling party, no matter how beneficial is the policy for the
country in the long run. Indians have seen and enjoyed undisrupted democracy since
Independence except during 1970s while the proclamation of emergency was in effect. There
is always a fight among the political parties for vote banks. The agricultural sector is
overburdened and the economy needs a wave of modernization and industrialization for

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sharing the burden and pacing up its growth and development of the country, which appears
to be impossible in the current conditions of perverted form of democracy.

France has shown an impressive and consistent growth and development in almost every
sector owing to the allegiance of the government to the interest of the public and consenting
to modernize the economy even after receiving an unwelcome attitude of the people in the
beginning. This is a lesson yet to learn by the Indian politicians. Also, the increased role of
people has created a path of improved administration, transparency and will of the people in
France unlike that of in India.

CONCLUSION

Indias tryst with democracy began with its efforts to overcome the colonial legacy marked
by underdevelopment, poverty, illiteracy and social and economic inequalities. Democracy
was construed as a flexible system wherein every citizen makes his/her contribution to the
society. However, the past few decades since independence have clearly demonstrated that in
India, democracy has failed to deliver its purpose, both theoretically and practically. In the
present context of rapid degradation of democratic norms, criminalization of politics,
corruption in the legal, executive and political sects of the government meant for facilitating
and catering to peoples needs and open violation of electoral reforms, alternative forms of
democracy have become increasingly needed in India. The alternative form of democracy that
could be made applicable in India is that of Participatory Democracy.

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