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Political Process Failure in the Indian Parliament: Studying Abuse of Power by the Chair | Anmol J.
Anmol Jain, in Political Process Failure in the Indian Parliament: Studying Abuse of Power by the Chair and How it can be Addressed, analyses the inherent flaws in the constitutional design of the chair of the two houses of the Parliament. The author highlights instances of abuse of power by the Chairperson and display of partisan bias in certain cases, including wrongful certification bills as a money bill to evade the requirement of the majority in the Rajya Sabha (as in the case of the Aadhar Act) and denial of demand for division of votes by the opposition (as in the case of the Farm Bills and the anti-cow slaughter legislation in Karnataka). The author offers three solutions to this problem. First, the resignation of the Chairperson from the affiliated political party, and as a convention, the placing of a prohibition on political parties from pitching candidates against the chair in the successive general election. Second, referring the decision of the Chairperson to a select committee when a significant number of members of the house demand the same. Third, as an external check on the power, Jain suggests an expanded judicial review of legislative processes that are fundamental to lawmaking.
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