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The Rediff Special/Lal Kishinchand Advani

'The debate on the need for a comprehensive review demands more light than heat'

We in the BJP-led alliance believe that the problems which this country faces today-poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, poor health, under-development-cannot be attributed to the Constitution. Dr Rajendra Prasad as chairman of the Constituent Assembly had rightly observed:

"If the people who are elected are capable, and men of character and integrity, they would be able to make the best even of a defective Constitution. If they are lacing in these, the Constitution cannot help the country. After all, the Constitution, like a machine, is a lifeless thing. It acquires life because of the men who control it and operate it and India needs today nothing more than a set of honest men who will have the interest of the country before them."

But this should not mean that we should not learn from experience. As Pandit Nehru observed in the Constituent Assembly, "While we want this Constitution to be as solid and permanent as we can make it, there is no permanence in Constitutions. There should be a certain flexibility. If you make anything rigid and permanent, you stop the nation's growth, the growth of a living vital organic people."

On 15 August this year the country will be completing 51 years of Independence. In these five decades, while no one has questioned the wisdom of India having accepted democracy, or republicanism or federalism, or secularism, at various points of time, several other pertinent questions have been raised, and by very eminent thinkers, whose patriotism and concern for national interest and the people's welfare is unquestionable. Some of these questions are:

• Should the Indian political system be as centralised as it is now, or should a process or decentralisation be consciously undertaken so that much greater powers and resources become developed on the states and local self-government bodies than the Constitution conceives at present?
• While opting for democracy, India's Constitution-makers chose the parliamentary system of governance and not the presidential system. It is universally acknowledged that both systems have their respective pluses and minuses. The question often posed is this: "At the present stage of India's development, which of these systems would serve us better? Should the country review the choice made by our Constitution-makers?"

I may mention here that while the Supreme Court identified democracy, free and fair elections as "a basic feature," the basic structure doctrine does not bind us to parliamentary democracy.

While adopting part XV of the Constitution relating to elections, the Constituent Assembly had in mind the first-past-the-post system of elections prevalent in the United Kingdom. Most democracies of Europe have their legislature elected by the list system. Some like Germany have accepted a mixed system. Should India, too, after the experience of 12 general elections, have a second look at its electoral system?

I have cited three questions above which could be considered in depth by the proposed commission. These do cover a wide field, but essentially they are illustrative, not exhaustive. And as anyone can see, even if the country agrees to make far-reaching changes in the areas touched by these questions, the basic structure of the Constitution will remain unaltered.

In conclusion, let me say that the debate on the need for a comprehensive review of the Constitution demands more light than heat. As for the heat sought to be generated by those who are experiencing the chill of popular rejection in recent elections, their motivated attempts to mislead the people, with lies and fibs will certainly come to naught.

The Constitution Review Debate

The Rediff Special

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