T
The Supreme Court verdict on the Ninth Schedule can be far-reaching. It may challenge our accepted interpretation of the Constitution.
Is it not just a matter of time, then, before circumstances compel a President to actually exercise the powers conferred on him by the Constitution? If and when he does that, it will demolish the popular view that our elected President is a mere titular head. That situation is bound to arise one day.
The Supreme Court was careful, of course, not to encroach on Parliament’s preserve. It upheld Parliament’s decision to expel 11 MPs who had accepted money for putting up questions in the House. This verdict too was welcomed widely, both by politicians and the public. But it made a few unhappy and bitter.
"What’s wrong with taking money to put up questions?" a sympathiser of the expelled MPs asked. "What about the government’s own conduct?"
"What about it?"
"Didn’t the government please the Ambanis by approving SEZ projects across the country? Didn’t the government please the Tatas by approving the car project in Bengal? Didn’t the government please the Muslims by deciding to act on the Sachar report? Didn’t the government please theOBCs by pushing for the creamy layer? Didn’t the government please the Dalits by demanding affirmative action in the private sector?"
When he ran out of breath, he was asked what he was driving at. "Well, won’t the Tatas, the Ambanis and other industrialists invest money in all the projects they set up with the government’s approval? Won’t the Muslims, Dalits and OBCs offer political support to the government for all the measures taken by it?"
It was conceded they would.
"Precisely! They’re all making payments in cash or in kind. The government’s answers to all problems are made for payment. If payments are okay for answers, why are they bad for asking questions?"
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)