Parliament and the Making of Laws

Every civilized society is governed by the rules and the body of such rules, norms, provision, etc. is termed as the law of the land. In this chapter we will try to understand how laws related to our land/nation are made and the body who make them.

1.0Introduction

India is a democratic country in which people of the nation participate in the functions of the government and there is political, social, and economic equality. Fundamental Rights are guaranteed to all citizens irrespective of caste, class, creed, or gender. New laws have to be constantly framed, older ones have to be amended and those laws which are outdated have to be abolished in the interest of the people and the nation. The members of the Constituent Assembly agreed that there should be no arbitrary exercise of power in independent India. They, therefore, instituted several provisions in the Constitution that would establish the rule of law. The most important of these was that all persons in independent India are equal before the law.

2.0Why should people decide?

• India became independent on 15 August 1947 after a long and difficult struggle in which many sections of society participated.
• People from various backgrounds joined the struggle and they were inspired by the ideas of freedom, equality and participation in decision-making.
• Under colonial rule, the people had lived in fear of the British government and did not agree with many of the decisions that they took. But they faced grave danger if they tried to criticise these decisions.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad - The first President of Independent India

• The freedom movement changed this situation. The nationalists began to openly criticise the British government and make demands.
• As far back as 1885, the Indian National Congress demanded that there be elected members in the legislature with a right to discuss the budget and ask questions. The Government of India Act 1909,

Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) allowed for some elected representation.

• While these early legislatures under the British government were in response to the growing demands of the nationalists, they did not allow for all adults to vote, nor could people participate in decision making.
• The experience of colonial rule as well as the participation of different people in the struggle for freedom left little doubt in the minds of the nationalists that all persons in independent India would be able to participate in making decisions.
• With the coming of independence, we were going to be citizens of a free country.
• Freedom did not mean that the government could do what it felt like, it meant that the government had to be sensitive to people's needs and demands.
• The dreams and aspirations of the freedom struggle were made concrete in the Constitution of independent India that laid down the principle of universal adult franchise, i.e. that all adult citizens of the country have the right to vote.

3.0People and their Representatives

• The take-off point for a democracy is the idea of consent, i.e. the desire, approval and participation of people. It is the decision of people that creates a democratic government and decides about its functioning.
• The basic idea in a democracy is that the individual or the citizen is the most important person and that in principle the government as well as other public institutions need to have the trust of these citizens.
• Such approval can be given through elections. People would elect their representatives to the Parliament, then, one group from among these elected representatives forms the government.
• The Parliament, which is made up of all representatives together, controls and guides the government. In this sense people, through their chosen representatives, form the government and also control it.

4.0The Role of the Parliament

• The Indian Parliament is an expression of the faith that the people of India have in principles of democracy.
• These are participation by people in the decision-making process and government by consent. The Parliament in our system has immense powers because it is the representative of the people. Elections to the Parliament are held in a similar manner as they are for the state legislature.
• The Lok Sabha is usually elected once every five years. The country is divided into numerous constituencies. Each of these constituencies elects one person to the Parliament. The candidates who contest elections usually belong to different political parties.
• Once elected, these candidates become Members of Parliament or MPs. These MPs together make up the Parliament. Once elections to the Parliament have taken place, the Parliament needs to perform the following functions:

To Select the National Government

• The Parliament of India consists of the President of India and the two Houses that are Lok Sabha (House of Representatives) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States).
• For a political party to form the government, they must have a majority of elected MPs. Since there are 543 elected (plus 2 Anglo-Indian nominated) members in Lok Sabha, to have a majority a party should have at least half the number i.e., 272 members or more.
• The Opposition in Parliament is formed by all the political parties that oppose the majority party/coalition formed. The largest amongst these parties is called the Opposition party.
• One of the most important functions of the Lok Sabha is to select the executive. The executive is a group of persons who work together to implement the laws made by the Parliament. This executive is often what we have in mind when we use the term government.
• The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha. From the MPs who belong to her party, the Prime Minister selects ministers to work with her to implement decisions. These ministers then take charge of different areas of government functioning like health, education, finance etc.
• When a single party is unable to get majority in the Parliament, two or more parties come together to form the government which is called coalition government.
• The Rajya Sabha functions primarily as the representative of the states of India in the Parliament. The Rajya Sabha can also initiate legislation and a bill is required to pass through the Rajya Sabha in order to become a law.
• It, therefore, has an important role of reviewing and altering (if alterations are needed) the laws initiated by the Lok Sabha. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of various states.
• There are 233 elected members plus 12 members nominated by the President.

To Control, Guide and Inform the Government

• The Parliament, while in session, begins with a question hour. The question hour is an important mechanism through which MPs can elicit information about the working of the government.
• This is a very important way through which the Parliament controls the executive. By asking questions the government is alerted to its shortcomings, and also comes to know the opinion of the people through their representatives in the Parliament, i.e. the MPs.
• Asking questions of the government is a crucial task for every MP.
• The Opposition parties play a critical role in the healthy functioning of a democracy. They highlight drawbacks in various policies and programmes of the government and mobilise popular support for their own policies.
• The government gets valuable feedback and is kept on its toes by the questions asked by the MPs. In addition, in all matters dealing with finances, the Parliament's approval is crucial for the government.
• This is one of the several ways in which the Parliament controls, guides and informs the government. The MPs as representatives of the people have a central role in controlling, guiding and informing Parliament and this is a key aspect of the functioning of Indian democracy.

Law-Making

Making laws is the most important function of the Parliament The procedure of lawmaking is similar in both the Houses. First a draft of law called a Bill is prepared on any felt need or demand. A bill may be a Private Member's Bill or a Government Bill. A Government Bill is a bill introduced by a Minister.

5.0How do new laws come about?

• The Parliament has an important role in making laws. There are many ways through which this takes place, and it is often different groups in society that raise the need for a particular law.
• An important role of Parliament is to be sensitive to the problems faced by people. In this regard, it is imperative on the part of Parliament to show sensitivity to the problems which people face.
• While framing laws, it is essential that particular groups of people should not be favoured at the expense of the interest of others.
• Domestic violence refers to the injury or harm or threat of injury or harm caused by an adult male, usually the husband, against his wife. Injury may be caused by physically beating up the woman or by emotionally abusing her.
• Abuse of the woman can also include verbal, sexual and economic abuse.
• The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 extends the understanding of the term 'domestic' to include all women who 'live or have lived together in a shared household' with the male member.
• Often women who face violence or are abused are seen as victims. But women struggle in several different ways to survive these situations. Therefore, it is more accurate to refer to them as survivors rather than as victims.
• During the 1990s various groups of people across the country voiced the urgency for a new legislation to curb the rising incidents of domestic violence.
• In 1999, a group of activists and lawyers called the Lawyers Collective, held consultations throughout the country and played an active part in preparing the draft of the domestic violence Prevention and Protection Bill.
• Copies of the draft bill were subsequently distributed among all relevant sections and groups of people across the country.

Children have the Right to Education

• After several rounds of deliberations on the draft bill, the Parliamentary Standing Committee came out with a set of recommendations, which were tabled in December 2002 in the Rajya Sabha and then, in the Lok Sabha.
• In December 2002 the Parliamentary Standing Committee, in its report tabled in the two houses of the Parliament, gave its nod to most of the demands made by the women's organisations.
• Eventually in 2005, a new Bill was reintroduced in Parliament. Following its passage in both houses, the President gave his assent to it. Thus, in 2006, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act finally became a law with immediate effect.
• Thus, the above example shows that the role of citizens is crucial in helping Parliament frame different concerns that people might have into laws. From establishing the need for a new law to it being passed, at every stage of the process the voice of the citizen is a crucial element.
• This voice can be heard through TV reports, newspaper editorials, radio broadcast, local meetings - all of which help in making the work that Parliament does more

6.0Unpopular and Controversial Laws

• Sometimes a law can be constitutionally valid and hence legal, but it can continue to be unpopular and unacceptable to people because they feel that the intention behind it is unfair and harmful.
• Hence, people might criticise this law, hold public meetings, write about it in newspapers, report to TV news channels, etc.
• In a democracy like ours, citizens can express their unwillingness to accept repressive laws framed by the Parliament.
• When a large number of people begin to feel that a wrong law has been passed, then there is pressure on the Parliament to change this.
• For example, various municipal laws on the use of space within municipal limits often make hawking and street vending illegal. No one will dispute the necessity for some rules to keep the public space open so that people can walk on the pavements easily.
• However, one also cannot deny that hawkers and vendors provide essential services cheaply and efficiently to the millions living in a large city.
• This is their means of livelihood. Hence, if the law favours one group and disregards the other it will be controversial and lead to conflict.
• People who think that the law is not fair can approach the court to decide on the issue. People can now avail the Public Interest Litigation process.
• They can file to seek a stay order for, or annulment of any legislation even after its enforcement if they find it contrary to public interest. The court has the power to modify or cancel laws if it finds that they don't adhere to the Constitution.

Right to Information Act

• Another development in the interest of the public is the Right to Information Act (RTI). This Act ensures the people's right to know everything that goes in government offices.
• The law makers and law enforcing agencies, therefore, operate under the public scanner.
• We need to remember that our role as citizens does not end with electing our representatives. Rather, it is then that we begin to use newspapers and the media to carefully chart the work that is being done by our MPs and criticise their actions when we feel it is required.
• Thus, what we should bear in mind is that it is the extent, involvement and enthusiasm of the people that helps Parliament perform its representative functions properly.

7.0Glossary

1. Criticise - To find fault with or disapprove of a person or thing. In the context of this chapter, it refers to citizens finding fault with the functioning of government.
2. Evolution - Process of development from a simple to a complex form and is often used to discuss the development of a species of plants or animals. In the context of this chapter, it refers to the way in which protecting women against domestic violence developed from an urgently-felt need to a new law that can be enforced throughout the country.
3. Sedition - This applies to anything that the government might consider as stirring up resistance or rebellion against it. In such cases, the government does not need absolute evidence in order to arrest persons. Under the Sedition Act of 1870, the British had a very broad interpretation of what constituted sedition, and what this meant was that they could arrest and detain any person they wanted under this Act. The nationalists considered this law arbitrary because persons were arrested for a variety of reasons that were seldom clarified beforehand as well as because those arrested were often kept in jail without a trial.
4. Repressive - To control severely in order to prevent free and natural development or expression. In the context of this chapter, it refers to laws that brutally control persons and often prevent them from exercising their Fundamental Rights including Right to Speech and Assembly.

8.0Mind Map

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