Parliamentary Secretaries ! Whew ! Surrogacy redefined
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 04, 2012 -

Manipur Assembly building :: Pix - TSE

If you don't have cakes, eat bread. Juxtapose this to the world of real politiks as understood in Manipur and the move of the State Cabinet to pass an Ordinance to pave the way for appointment of Parliament Secretaries aptly fits the observation of settling for something less luxurious.

In its essence Parliamentary Secretaries are members of the Assembly or Parliament, whatever the case may be, who may be appointed by the first among equals to assist the Cabinet Ministers in certain portfolios.

Before the stringent anti-defection Bill and the cap on the size of Ministry came into force in the early of the first decade of the new millennium, jumbo sized Ministry was part of the lexicon of any Ministry formation, but trust our innovative leaders to put on their thinking caps and whip out the magic word to replace the term jumbo sized ministry and presto, now we have Parliamentary Secretaries.

This is the politics of appeasement at its most lofty and a beautifully executed master stroke to beat the cap on the size of Ministry. Apart from the post of Chairman of various societies or entities like the PDA, the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly is set to witness some sort of a surrogate Ministry, which does not violate the cap on the size of the Ministry but definitely goes against its spirit.

In its conventional understanding, there may be one or two or even three in the rank of Ministers of State to assist a Cabinet Minister and Parliamentary Secretaries, by its very understanding and definition is more or less synonymous with Ministers of State, who will be tasked to assist the 12 member Cabinet Ministers.

The question is whether Manipur actually needs a batch of Parliamentary Secretaries, who will be a power unto themselves, enjoying the perks and status of Ministers of State.

With 42 MLAs in a House of 60, the Congress does not need to pander to the demands of any coalition partners. It is a one party rule. The question of accommodating partners in Government does not arise at all and this is where the decision to pass an Ordinance to pave the way for Parliamentary Secretaries ought to be put under the scanner.

Running the affairs of the State should not be reduced to an exercise of soothing bruised egos and placating battered ambition. This has nothing to do with governance. With 42 MLAs in a House of 60, there is no political compulsion of accommodating a coalition partner.

So what is the Government trying to prove by going ahead with such an idea, a ludicrous one at that. There are reasons why Parliament deemed it fit to put a cap on the size of the Ministry.

One obvious reason is to cut down on unnecessary expenditure and the other is a more subtle message that serving the interest of the people need not necessarily mean that one should find a place in the Council of Ministers to serve the people.

In the process of neatly sidestepping the cap on the size of Ministry expansion, the idea of appointing Parliamentary Secretaries would mean the presence of another set of de facto Ministers, who will enjoy all the perks and powers of a Minister but will not be called Ministers.

The idea does not make sense at all and it would not at all positively impact on the governance of the land. On the other hand it would only mean more flagposts, more siren blazing vehicles on the busy streets of Imphal and it would mean draining the State exchequer.

Can Manipur really afford to meet the expenses of offices which are not needed at all in the first place ? With such a huge mandate, the Congress Government should be sitting down to the serious business of governance and give a more cutting understanding to the term, accountability.

The first full Cabinet meeting of the Congress Government should have been more on how to meet the likely financial crisis the State may face, give the finishing touch to the development projects which have ironically been inaugurated and yes digest the numerous suggestions made by well meaning citizens of the land such as the concept of the Home Assembly.

Instead, what we see or what has been staged in front of us is the Chief Minister and his men trying desperately to beat the cap on the size of the Ministry legislation by referring to the text books and coming out with the idea of Parliamentary Secretaries, which is nothing but another word for Ministers. This is the first fruit of the people's mandate and the underlying meaning in this observation should not be lost on us.