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The prez campaign: Why women started wearing veils, whether a second-term president is desirable, or whether consensus is better than contest.
Legal experts often quote founding fathers of the Constitution to reinforce their views about the president’s powers. They rarely quote our written and explicit Constitution. The founding fathers of the Constitution wrote that there should be a council of ministers to aid and advise the president. They said nothing about the president being compelled to follow that advice. During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi introduced the 42nd Amendment to compel the president to follow the cabinet’s advice. Morarji Desai introduced the 44th Amendment which partially restored discretion to the president. He could return a bill once for reconsideration, but had to sign if Parliament returned it without change.
This was what led President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to blunder on the Office of Profit law. He returned the bill because it was defective. Parliament agreed it was defective. But Parliament returned the bill unaltered for him to sign, assuring him that his concerns would be addressed and appropriate changes incorporated. It set up for that purpose a joint parliamentary committee (JPC). President Kalam then signed the bill to make an unconstitutional law! Until now, the JPC has done nothing. Forty MPs eluded immediate expulsion. The UPA government, which would have lost its majority, thus continued in office. The UPA government survives therefore because of a law deemed unconstitutional both by the president and by Parliament. There is a petition against this law in the Supreme Court. The SC appears to feel no urgency despite the profound implications of the case. Perhaps the judgement will come after this Parliament’s term ends? Have not the honourable judges heard the old adage about justice delayed being justice denied?
One would have expected the issue to feature in the presidential campaign—a debate on what the president’s role ought to be. Instead, what was discussed was why women started wearing veils, whether a second-term president is desirable, or whether consensus is better than contest.
We’ll certainly get the president we deserve!
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)