Is Anna Hazare Above Parliament?
Is Anna Hazare Above Parliament?
Who is Supreme, People or Parliament? Bureaucrat turned RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal of Anna team kicked up a controversy recently, when he stated to a private news channel "Every citizen including Anna is above Parliament. As a citizen Anna has every right to demand that this particular law should be passed and he is all free to protest." But when he said "Citizens are above Parliament!", it created a storm of debate. The UPA government responded with Finance Minister saying, "The way the civil society movement is headed, it seems that leaders have become legislators. Anna Hazare is challenging the constitutional authority of Parliament, which is not acceptable. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also made his stand clear by saying that Anna's proposal of "citizens' power to reject" will have to go through a Parliamentary consensus. So has Kejriwal stated an obvious fact or has he overstated a fact? His views have so far brought several mixed reactions.Some feel that Kejriwal has simply said something that is very much obvious. Parliament is one of the wings of the government that carries out important duties including framing of laws. Democracy dictates that citizens decide who enters Parliament. Parliament has to act in accordance with Citizens' wishes.
There are others who feel that Kejriwal overstepped the line, and is challenging the view that Parliament is supreme as far as making laws is concerned. Can citizens overrule the decisions of Members of Parliament they themselves elected? The Constitution Preamble clearly states that the constitution has been enacted and created by 'the people of India', and Indian people are citizens of the Indian republic. Parliament may be a part of the constitutional structure, but it is very much answerable to the people of India. This removes some of the confusions arising from Kejriwal's statement.
But where Kejriwal seems to have gone wrong is in striking a tone that Anna as an individual citizen has the right to challenge or reject Parliamentary decisions. People of India may be above Parliament, but an individual citizen cannot claim to be above Parliament. Once the elected representatives are chosen by the people, legislative laws are very much in the hands of the Members of Parliament. The citizens of a civil society may agitate or lobby the Parliament to consider its views in a policy. Once the laws are passed, it is mandatory that citizens follow the same.
In the end, there has to be a fine balance between the 'Voice of People' and the 'institution of Parliament'. So where the citizens' voice must surely be heard by the Parliament, an individual Anna cannot dictate or reject the terms of a bill to be passed by the Parliament. A fine balance between 'Parliamentary powers' and 'People's Power' should be struck to avoid an anarchy or a dictatorship.
@rvind!
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