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Marking the country to be fortunate in having "calibre, integrity and patriotism in the top leadership" within our coalition governments, Jalan is apprehensive that this situation may not last long, advocating more financial powers and increased responsibility of implementation of development programmes to states. An excellent idea, but little headway will be made unless the existing mindset on Centre-state relations is corrected and true decentralisation of major policy planning is affected. After the Sarkaria Commission, we have another commission dealing with the same issue, little realising that the recommendations made earlier are in limbo. In dealing with political corruption aggravated by compulsions of coalition politics, Jalan suggests that persons who have been charge-sheeted for corruption and fraud should not be permitted to take oath of office and occupy ministerial posts till they are not cleared. The depoliticisation of the civil services, a self-regulatory decision by the judiciary to cut down on the number of non-working days and the "length of court vacations", relinquishing ministerial office if there is a low percentage of achievement on annual targets and the discontinuation of MPLAD schemes at the Centre and similar schemes with MLAs in states are a few other measures that Jalan has suggested. More teeth to the federal Election Commission, a sharing of the ‘collective responsibility’ of lawmakers, especially in a coalition configuration, and better security management by the police at the state level are a few more suggestions that can better every Indian citizen’s lot. Jalan’s book and a few
more like this earlier have amply highlighted the issues and problems
that face the nation. The role played by a vigilant press, more
transparency in what office-holders are up to in their allocated tasks
and mass awareness in the citizens of their rights are all leading to
the growth of an awakened democracy. Unless policy implementation on the
ground is drastically bettered and leaders of courage and conviction are
prepared to vacate their offices if they have faltered in their mission,
the average citizen’s hopes will remain a pipe dream. In my view, the
system of recall of a lawmaker who has failed to meet the aspirations of
his electorate needs to be instituted. One only hopes that now that
Jalan finds himself in the Rajya Sabha, he will be able to oversee some
proposals that he has advocated and accelerate the march of democracy, a
system he recommends over the other option of a federal structure.
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A former Governor of the
Reserve Bank of India has turned attention to the state of politics and
governance in the country, tabulating "what I have learnt about
India’s politics from inside Parliament". Going beyond the ground
reality that much of India’s politics is also all about what goes on
outside Parliament, with unnecessary summation of views at each step,
and the fact that he has done many a stint with the sarkar in many a
capacity and knows babudom well, this is not an earth-shaking expose or
a refreshing view of the Indian polity. Seeing the drift towards
opportunism, self or party interest and everyone-for-himself-syndrome
that has crept in not only in much of our leadership, but the rank and
file too, some recommendations to tone up our political system merit
serious consideration.