NE States in Parliament :: Lopsided representation
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 01 2011 -

Democracy is not perfect. It never was perfect and will never be perfect, but its beauty lies in the very liberty that one can take in stating that it is not the perfect system of Government.

This beauty not withstanding, democracy comes with its extra baggage such as rule of the majority, which offers enough scope for the numerically weaker section to be sidelined in all major decision taking process and this is more likely to be acute in a country like India, where States are formed not on the basis of population but follow the Nehruvian idea of linguistic affiliation.

So from a State like Nagaland or Mizoram, which get to send only one MP to the Lok Sabha we have States like Uttar Pradesh which has 80 MPs followed by States like Maharastra with 48 MPs, West Bengal 42, Andhra Pradesh 42, Bihar 40 and so on.

The North East States comprising Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura account for a total of 26 MPs and this figure itself says something significant about why democracy is not perfect and will not be.

Twenty six MPs representing 8 States in a House of 545 and a country which has 28 States and 7 Union Territories and the down side of going by the formula of majority stands exposed.

This perhaps is one of the biggest draw backs in the system of democracy followed in India and a better understanding of the system of proportionate representation is called for.

The present system, as we understand it, invariably gives a long handle to all the MPs coming from States which get to send a larger number of MPs than States which get to send only one or two MPs.

It is mainly on account of this that MPs from the North East continue to be on the fringes of National politics, much like the geographical location of the region, which lies on the eastern frontiers of the country.

A look at the composition of the Council of Ministers at Delhi, since India became an independent Nation, tells the story of this reality. With just a handful of 26 MPs from the 8 States, the North East region continues to be woefully short of representation in the Council of Ministers at Delhi.

A Handique or a Sangma is but like the swallow which cannot make a Summer and this is where a deeper understanding of the true ideals and principles of democracy is needed. A reform of the system will be too high an order to follow but what can definitely be looked into is how the North East States can be better represented in the Union Council of Ministers.

Reservation is not the answer, for such a policy is nothing but some populist measures pursued by the Government from time to time with an eye on building a vote bank, but yes it would definitely do a whole lot of good if some measures can be taken up to ensure that the leadership at Delhi break free from the number of MPs shackles while constituting the Council of Ministers.

Instead of the number of MPs, something may be done along the line of regional representation or Statewise representation, more so when it comes to States from the North East.

Since independence, the number of MPs from Manipur who have been inducted into the Union Council of Ministers can be counted on one's fingers and that too on the fingers of only one hand.

The late RK Jaichandra was the first man from Manipur to be inducted into the Union Council of Ministers as MoS for Youth Affairs and Sports during the time of Rajiv Gandhi.

After him came Meijunlung Kamson who was inducted as a Minister of State for Home Affairs (North East) at the fag end of the term of Narasimha Rao. Mr Kamson was followed by Th Chaoba who enjoyed a brief stint as a Minister of State for YAS and then Food Processing during the days of the BJP led NDA Government.

Since then, Manipur has been absent in the Union Council of Ministers. We agree that one does not have to be a Minister to deliver the goods for even an MP can do a lot, provided he or she is focused on the job at hand.

However the absence of Manipur in the Union Council of Ministers for the greater period since independence reeks of the number of MPs becoming the final yardstick for deciding the composition of the Ministry. Merit be damned.

Loyalty can go take a long walk for this counts only when the MP in question comes from some States which get to send a large number of representatives to the Lok Sabha.

Remember Kamson was inducted into the Ministry as a Minister of State, after representing the Outer Manipur Constituency for well over three or four terms in succession as a Congressman. If reports from Delhi are anything to go by then a reshuffle of the Union Ministry is on the cards and may be effected any time in the early part of July.

With charges of corruption eroding much of its credibility in the recent past, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and AICC president Sonia Gandhi will be hard pressed to go in for some changes, even if it is cosmetic.

All indications say that a uniform yardstick may not be adopted while deciding on the composition of the Ministry and so while scams like the 2G spectrum may see the Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK sent packing, the tainted handle may not apply to someone like Sushil Kumar Shinde as he comes from Maharastra and is deemed to be a powerful Minister.

It was with reason that the Pioneer had pointed this out in its June 29th edition. Manipur at present has three MPs in Parliament, including Rishang Keishing in the Rajya Sabha.

Mr Keishing is not only the senior most MP in Parliament, but is also a known Congress loyalist and the logic for not inducting him in the Council of Ministers can only be explained by the Congress high command. Old age ? It cannot be that for there are exceptions and senility does not exist in the vocabulary of Mr Keishing.