Dr. Gopal Parthasarthi Sharma
On a first look, the legislative complex at summer capital of J&K seems like any other seat of democratic authority in the country. Even having a bicameral system with an upper house called Legislative Council and a lower house called Legislative Assembly isn’t something unique as this system is still prevalent in half a dozen other states. Even the legislative procedures are more or less similar to those in other states.
What makes the state Legislature awkwardly standout is that just like the state’s special status, it has a distinction of having the Upper House on the Lower floor and the Lower House on the Upper floor. Maybe this ominous topsy-turvy arrangement of the two houses defying all logic has some bearing on the perplexed situation in the state. Any rational person visiting the complex would climb up the stairs to find the upper house and climb down to the lower house, but, interestingly that is not the case. It’s amusing to find lawmakers pointing towards the sky to refer to the Lower House and pointing towards the ground to refer to the Upper House. Maybe, this is the reason that their actions and their words are always in disagreement to each other.
Anyways, the state is known for such illogical fusions just like the present ‘North Pole -South Pole’ coalition government having diametrically opposite partners as regards their ideologies. Hence, this superficial architectural blunder can be waived off considering the inherent mystification in the state. Still it can be tentatively accepted that the House at the lower level is the Upper House and vice versa and the two houses are running as per the Constitution.
How does it matter if the younger generation lives on the upper floor while the elders live on the ground floor? Maybe elders are being spared the trouble of climbing up and down. So what if the juniors are enjoying a spacious and well organized work space while the elders are humbled with a much smaller space. Till the system runs as per the norms laid down by the Constitution these infrastructural inequalities can be digested.
A couple of days back a symbolic walk-out from the Upper House by all the legislators cutting across the party lines has revealed that there is something more to this topsy-turvy nature of the Legislative Complex. Interestingly, led by the legislators of the ruling coalition and joined by those from the opposition, the protesters decried their deplorable condition. They claimed that they have been reduced to second graders when it comes to protocol. While they are supposed to get a protocol at par with the Chief Secretary of the state they hardly get any protocol and are not provided even escort vehicles in the trouble-torn areas. They have not been provided accommodation in capital cities and whatever has been offered seems to be below their dignity. Even the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the council are victims of administrative apathy rather antipathy.
The emotive outbursts revealed that their frustration had been brewing up for quite some time as nobody was paying any heed to their genuine demands. It looked quite awkward that those who were supposed to provide words of wisdom to the government were pleading like hapless creatures. It was heartening to see custodians of public welfare demanding their own rightful share of respect and dignity.
The list of their grievances to the government, predominantly represented by the members of the lower house, revealed that the discrimination with the upper house members is not on political lines but the whole house that has been pruned to a much lower stature. The members feel that after becoming a part of the upper house they have been ‘disabled’ rather than ‘enabled’. Their total neglect by the government has also emboldened the bureaucrats who hardly listen to the senior legislators. Even if some legislators try to get involved in governance they are ignored. Most of the times, they are not informed about the developmental plans or activities in their respective areas. Maybe, some members in the lower house feel threatened by their presence in the public constituencies as there is some clash of political interests.
It seems that the government and the bureaucrats work on the assumption that since upper house members are not chosen directly by the electorate they need not be involved in planning or work execution at ground zero. Maybe they consider the upper house members as embellishments rather than the main parts of the government machinery. Hence they feel that saving costs on their maintenance is justified. The lower house must understand that those in the upper house have also electoral constituencies to cater and are also answerable to the public at large. They must be given their due share of legislature. Interestingly, upper house includes some members representing Panchayati Raj institutions and Urban Local Bodies. Technically speaking they represent much bigger constituencies as compared to the lower house members.
Ideally they should have been given more respect, better facilities, and better protocol and above all more space in decision making. With most of the legislators in the upper house having much more experience as compared to their counterparts in the lower house they should have been involved in the governance. The upper house is a repository of experience, fresh ideas, and a sense of balance which is of paramount value in a state like Jammu & Kashmir. Contrary to the public and administrative perception the upper house is not represented by oldies only but has well meaning, young, dynamic, and publically well connected individuals.
The MLCs were perturbed by the derogatory and unparliamentarily insults that an independent MLA had hurled upon the upper house and its members during Governor’s address to the Joint Session of the house. They seemed even more perturbed by the fact that given the present status accorded to them the controversial independent MLA sounds partially true. It is a fact that wherever there is a bicameral legislature it’s the lower house that wields more power than the upper house but the basic facilities, protocol, etc. is out of this power struggle. The ‘second chamber’ or the upper house is fully respected and is not reduced to a ‘secondary chamber’ as in this case.
Winning electoral battles is indeed a great feat but it does not mean that those elected or nominated to the upper house are less important. Instead of considering them as ‘political retirees’ or ‘dumping material’ they should be accorded full respect. If the situation worsens a day will come when the upper house will rise above the party affiliations and request the lower house for its own burial. If the ‘Elders’ are forced to use their powers guaranteed by the constitution the Legislative Complex will really go topsy-turvy. Hope those at the helm of affairs understand the gravity of the situation.
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