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MPs & lobbyists: The
dividing line
Spurt in rape cases in Delhi |
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On Record
Profile
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MPs & lobbyists: The dividing line
Union Minister
of State for Environment and Forests (Independent charge) Jairam Ramesh recently wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman raising some vital issues involving the conduct of Members of Parliament. Perhaps, the hangover of Mr Ramesh’s own academic past got the better of him to make such remarks. Unless the precise names are given and specific instances cited with proper documentation and evidence, no meaningful action can be expected to follow the Minister’s epistles to the Presiding Officers of Parliament. In all fairness to the Members of Parliament and parliamentary institutions, the Minister must come forward with facts and details of the information in his possession so that appropriate action under the Constitution, laws and rules of the Houses can be initiated to ensure that our elected representatives – Members of Parliament – do not degenerate into serving their own personal or family business interests or becoming power brokers, middlemen, influence-peddlers, liaison men, commission agents or lobbyists for vested interests. One view that is advanced and debated is that Members of Parliament work under tremendous pressure. They are approached by many people for help as their legitimate communication links with Parliament and the government. Often, the members have got to write to the Ministers. It should be entirely the responsibility of the Minister to have the matters examined and decisions taken on merits. This would not be an appropriate approach. Communications from the Members of Parliament are entitled to due respect in the chambers of Ministers. But, that also casts a tremendous responsibility on the shoulders of the members. They should not blindly sign any missives to Ministers. As for members trying to directly influence government officials, that is entirely impermissible. In some quarters, it is advocated that in the context of economic liberalisation and free market policies adopted by us, lobbying should be accepted as an essential concomitant and legalised on the US pattern. In the United States, for instance, almost every interest group has its lobbyist on the Capitol Hill to protect and promote its interests in the portals of the US Congress and in the government. The lobbyists have to be registered under the Registration of Lobbies Act. The lobbyists interact with the members of the Congress and build pressure groups to influence policy in the interest of their clients. Sometimes these pressure groups and lobbies play a more potent role in policy formulation, legislation and implementation than even the political parties. No wonder, the lobbyists in the US are some of the most highly paid people. Here again, our situation in many respects and our polity are very different from the United States. In the context of vast sections of our people still suffering from poverty, backwardness and deprivation, it would not at all be possible in foreseeable future to have lobbyists for all interest groups. Any law permitting lobbying would only legitimise and promote some of the most unfair practices including payment of bribes and commissions. The lobbyists would become the middlemen. The dividing line between a lobbyist and a broker is very thin. In our parliamentary system, several procedural devices are available to members to seek information from the Ministers and to raise matters of public importance in the parliamentary fora. Every member is a Member of Parliament of India. He cannot be confined to concerns of his constituency. He can raise matters of concern to any or every part of the nation and pertaining to the public interest of any section of the people. However, if a Member of Parliament has any personal, direct or pecuniary interest in any matters coming up before the House or a Committee of which he is a member, he is expected to inform the Speaker/Chairman of his interest in advance of his taking part in the proceedings concerned. Under Rule 255 in the Lok Sabha, objection may be taken to the inclusion of a member in a Committee on the ground that the member has a personal, pecuniary or direct interest of such an intimate character that it may prejudicially affect the consideration of any matters to be considered by the Committee. If the Speaker holds that the member, against whose appointment objection has been taken, has a personal, pecuniary or direct interest in the matter before the Committee, he shall cease to be a member thereof forthwith. For purposes of this rule, the interest of the member should be direct, personal or pecuniary and separately belong to the person whose inclusion in the Committee is objected to and not in common with the public in general or with any class or section thereof or on a matter of state policy. There have been several instances where action has been actually taken by the Speaker. Under Lok Sabha Rule 371, vote of a Member on the floor of the House may be challenged on the ground of personal, pecuniary or direct interest in the matter. The Speaker shall decide whether the vote of the member should be disallowed. Norms of Parliamentary Decorum and Etiquette to be followed by Members are contained in the code of conduct which is part of the Rules of the House (Rules 349 to 359 and Directions 115A and 115C, Lok Sabha). But, this largely covers the members conduct in the matter of the maintenance of parliamentary decorum in the proceedings of the House. Besides, under the law of parliamentary privileges flowing from Article 105 of the Constitution, any misconduct in the presence of the House or a Committee thereof, including that by members themselves, constitutes contempt of the House. Members found guilty of such contempt can be punished by admonition, reprimand, suspension from membership for a particular period, commitment to prison or even expulsion from the House. Members generally are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that they maintain the dignity of the House to which they belong and not to indulge in any conduct unbecoming of Members of Parliament or inconsistent or derogatory to the dignity of the House. Thus, it is considered the duty of each member to refrain from any course of action prejudicial to his privilege of freedom of speech in the House. It is irregular for a member to enter into any contractual agreement with an outside body, controlling or limiting his complete independence and freedom of action in Parliament. The extent and amplitude of the words “conduct of a member” have not been defined exhaustively, but it is within the powers of the House in each case to determine whether a member has acted in an unbecoming manner or has acted in a manner unworthy of a Member of Parliament. Thus, even though the facts of a particular case do not come within any of the recognised heads of breach of privilege or contempt of the House, the conduct of a member may be considered by the House as unbecoming and derogatory to the dignity of the House. The first such case which is often cited occurred as early as in 1951 during the Provisional Parliament period. The House decided on September 24, 1951, that the conduct of a member (H.C. Mudgal) in undertaking to canvass “support” and to make “propaganda in Parliament” on behalf of the Bombay Bullion Exchange, in return for financial or business advantages, was “derogatory to the dignity of the House and inconsistent with the standard which Parliament is entitled to expect from its Members”. The House by a resolution determined that Mudgal deserved expulsion from the House. During the Eighth Lok Sabha (1985-89), 96 notices of questions relating to drug manufacturing companies, their products and formulations for different dates were received from seven members. From the format, language and typing of those questions, it appeared that the source of all of them was the same and they appeared to be rather sponsored questions to lobby for or against certain multinational drug companies. The questions, instead of asking information, gave information and no public interest appeared to be involved. It also appeared that the medium of question procedure was being abused and, therefore, was violative of Rule 43 (1). All these notices were disallowed. Again, a large number of questions relating to drug manufacturing companies, their products and formulations from almost the same set of members were received. Except a few which were found admissible on merit and were accordingly admitted, all other questions were disallowed. Some of the members represented against disallowance of their questions. These members were asked to see the Speaker. Only one member turned up. He was told by the Speaker to desist from accepting questions from private companies indiscriminately and without personal scrutiny. More recently, during the Fourteenth Lok Sabha period, in a sensational expose on camera, ten Members of Lok Sabha and one Member of Rajya Sabha were shown on TV as accepting money for asking questions in Parliament. Acting swiftly, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha suspended the member and referred the matter to the Ethics Committee of the House. The Lok Sabha Speaker asked the ten MPs not to attend the House till the matter was settled and he appointed a Special five-member Committee. Within a week, the two committees reported – both holding the members guilty and recommending expulsion from their respective Houses. On December 23, 2005, motions were passed in the two Houses expelling all the 11 members from their respective Houses for conduct lowering the dignity and credibility of Parliament. There are many established parliamentary customs and conventions which a member has to make himself familiar with. These customs and conventions are based on the past precedents, the rulings of Presiding Officers and on the unrecorded traditions of Parliament. These are put together in a Handbook for Members of Parliament and inter alia include: The Members of Parliament should not take action on behalf of their constituents on some insufficient or baseless facts or without verifying the veracity of facts nor should they allow themselves to be used as ready supporters of individual grievances. If the legislator feels that the cause is just and legitimate but the normal channels would get delayed justice, he can approach the civil servant concerned and bring the matter to his notice, but with decorum and in a manner not in any way amounting to pressurising or exercising undue influence. The conduct of a member involving corruption in the execution of his office as a member is treated by the House as a breach of privilege. Thus, acceptance of any fee, compensation or reward in connection with the promotion of or opposition to any Bill, resolution or matter submitted or proposed to be submitted to the House or any Committee thereof is a breach of privilege. It would also be a breach of privilege and misconduct on the part of a member to enter into an agreement with another person for any reward to advocate and prosecute in the House the claims of such person. The Handbook also provides details of the appropriate procedure for members communicating with Ministers, whom to write for seeking information, for complaining etc. So far as the present missives by Minister Ramesh to the Speaker and Chairman are concerned, presumably, he would be asked to substantiate his allegations with specific references to the names of Members and details of their attempts to influence him or his Ministry officials. If that is done, it would be a fit case for further action and can be referred to the Ethics Committee or the Privileges Committee of the House concerned or even a Special Committee may be constituted to inquire and report to the House. The House can then discuss the report and decide upon appropriate action to be taken against the members found guilty of conduct unbecoming of Members of Parliament. If any bribery or other corrupt practice violative of any law including the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Corruption Act etc. is involved, the members can also be hauled up by the law enforcement agencies of the state and proceeded against like any other citizen. In the new atmosphere of the dawn of some political will to take action, one can hope for the best and remain prepared for the
worst.
In all fairness to the Members of Parliament and parliamentary institutions, the Union Environment Minister must come forward with details of the information in his possession so that appropriate action under the Constitution, laws and rules of the Houses can be initiated to ensure that our elected representatives – Members of Parliament – do not degenerate into serving their own personal or family business interests or becoming power brokers, middlemen, influence-peddlers, liaison men, commission agents or lobbyists for vested interests
If any bribery or other corrupt practice violative of any law is involved, the Members of Parliament can be hauled up by the law enforcement agencies of the state and proceeded against like any other citizen
The writer, a noted constitutional expert, is a former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha
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Spurt in rape cases in Delhi THE rising incidence of rapes and gang rapes in Delhi has justifiably shocked and alarmed the citizens. Women, particularly in the 15-40 age group, feel unsafe in Delhi. Paradoxically, crime figures show decline in rape cases in Delhi. According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), in the country, 19,438 rape cases were registered in 2006 as against 20,737 in 2007 and 21,467 in 2008 (an increase of about 10.9 percent between 2006 and 2008). Delhi witnessed a reverse trend; 658 cases registered in 2005, 623 in 2006 and 598 in 2007. Unfortunately, police statistics only reveal the tip of the iceberg. A large number of cases are either not reported or, if reported, not registered. Admittedly, for a victim, the experience is a shattering one. After the gang rape case in Mangalpuri, the Delhi Police Commissioner has decided to make police more visible and responsive by augmenting the strength of police pickets and increasing the number PCR vans. However, just enhancing the strength and visibility of police will not stop crime or deter the criminals, particularly the sex offenders. The emphasis should be on quick police response to calls for help from harassed women. Very often, police response (as reported in Mangalpuri case) is slow and tardy. Again rapid response alone may not always help. In a path breaking research study, namely, Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment by the Police Foundation, Washington, it was established that randomised patrolling had a limited impact on crime and even in most cases, rapid response by the police did not help to solve the crime. In respect of a large number of offences, the time taken by the people to report to the police was found to be the primary determinant of the eventual outcome.
Empirical research studies have shown that most rape cases are not sudden occurrences but have been carefully planned and many sex offenders are relatives, friends and neighbours of the victims. However, rape by strangers, though few, are very violent in nature.
In the Mangalpuri case, the investigating officer has been replaced by a lady police officer, specially trained to handle cases against women. In addition to training, such officers must be sensitised to sympathetically handle the traumatized victims. In my police career, I have come across women officers as insensitive as their male counterparts. Officers investigating into rape cases must establish a proper rapport with the victims to help them overcome their sense of shame, nervousness and reluctance. Therefore, there is a need to augment the strength of women police officers in state police forces, particularly in the investigating wings. Women’s representation in police forces in the country is less than 4 per cent. In Delhi, it is 7.6 per cent of the total strength. To be effective, female officers should be trained in supportive and sympathetic interviewing techniques. In sexual assault cases, the female victims feel embarrassed to answer probing questions by the male sleuths and their failure to get detailed information from reluctant victims weakens the cases. There is a clamour for making anti-rape laws more stringent and provide death penalty to the rapists. The criminal law Amendment Act, 1983, was passed following public demand for stiff anti-rape law. The Act amended Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and enhanced the punishment to seven years. If the sentence is less than seven years, the court will have to mention reasons for this. It also provides for 10 years of imprisonment for police officers or the staff of judicial remand homes. The Act also amended the Code of Criminal Procedure and provided for trial in camera. However, all this did not help reduce the crime. It is wishful thinking that death penalty for rapists will serve as a deterrent. On the contrary, because of enhanced punishment, the courts may analyse the evidence more closely and refrain from imposing the maximum penalty because of the fear of miscarriage of justice. One of the tried and most effective ways of deterrence is quick trial and heavy punishment of the rapists. According to a Bureau of Police Research and Development study, the trial of rape cases go on for years thereby heightening the trauma of the victims. In many cases, the maximum punishment is not imposed by adducing some extenuating factors and lenient punishment is meted out to the perpetrators. In a well-known case, the court exonerated two young men of rigorous punishment because they had already suffered enough as undertrials. In a study of high rate of acquittals in rape cases in the Delhi courts, undertaken by the Institute of Social Sciences, the victims complained against insensitive investigating officers and prosecutors. One reason for most cases’ failure in the courts is the negative opinion given by medical officers examining the rape victims. Sexual assault cases are unique in that the police investigators have to rely on the examining physicians to collect the best evidence in the case, evidence from the body of the victims. In many cases, doctors in government hospitals refuse to give unbiased medical opinion in rape cases for fear of being cited as prosecution witnesses to be subjected to embarrassing cross examinations in courts of law. The Chief Minister of Delhi has suggested that women must learn to defend themselves when attacked by the rapists. But there can be no standard response to such attacks. In cases of aggressive resistance, there are instances of the rapist stabbing and fatally injuring the woman, who resisted. However, some knowledge of judo and karate could be useful in dealing with a lonely rapist, when attacked. The Delhi Police must also go for victimisation surveys to get a correct idea regarding the incidence of crime, particularly crimes against women. Victimisation surveys have become a regular feature of crime statistics in the United States. Such surveys also provide useful data on why victims do not report crimes, yielding valuable insights into public attitudes and behaviour. Many criminologists justifiably regard victimisation surveys as more reliable than crimes reported to the police.n
The Delhi Police must go for victimisation surveys to get a correct
idea regarding the incidence of crime, particularly crimes against
women
The writer, a former Director-General, National Human Rights Commission, is currently Senior Fellow, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi
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On Record
WITH
consumers in India increasingly borrowing from financial institutions, lenders are looking towards independent agencies to verify the creditworthiness of borrowers. A nationwide registry of borrowers is also taking shape with those fulfilling the eligibility criteria qualifying for cheaper loans. Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd (CIBIL), India’s first credit information bureau, has come to play a major role in deciding whether you get a loan at competitive rates. Arun Thukral, Managing Director, CIBIL, speaks to The Tribune in Mumbai about its functions and goals. Excerpts: Q: What can borrowers expect in 2011? A: CIBIL started making credit reports available to consumers manually last year. We are now working towards making credit reports available through a fully automated system. This will enable an individual direct online access to their credit information reports. This solution will have world class features that allow banks to respond to errors and disputes via an online maintenance tool with the capability to amend the credit information online. We are looking at offering other value added products such as the CIBIL TransUnion Credit Score to individuals which currently is available only to member banks. Q: How easy or difficult is it for an individual borrower to get scores about one’s creditworthiness from CIBIL? How much does it cost? A: Credit reports and scores provided by CIBIL are widely being used by institutions for making lending decisions. While the lenders are looking for effective risk management tools to manage this growth, individuals are looking for fast and affordable credit. CIBIL’s Credit Information Reports facilitate faster and more objective lending decisions. A good credit history, therefore, implies cost efficiencies for credit institutions and faster access to credit for consumers at better terms. In addition to speed and convenience, credit information reporting can also help make availability of credit at better terms for borrowers. his means that millions of Indian borrowers can now benefit with lenders increasingly adopting the Credit Information Reports as a crucial parameter in their credit decision process. Individuals can now easily access their own credit information report (CIR) directly from CIBIL on payment of Rs 142. For this, the individual should duly fill the CIR request form available on CIBIL’s website. CIBIL will then process the request and despatch the copy of the CIR. Q: People have complained of errors in the past. HOw do you ensure accuracy? A: A CIR is a factual record of a borrower’s payment history across credit grantors. This report is compiled by CIBIL on the basis of information submitted by the members. CIBIL does not make changes to any information on its own. It is only a custodian of information received from credit institutions. CIBIL is permitted to make changes to your credit information only when it is confirmed by the credit institution(s). However, if there is an error in an individual’s credit report, he/she can approach CIBIL. The dispute is then routed to the relevant lender for confirmation. However, the bureau cannot make changes to the credit report, if the relevant lender disagrees with the dispute. Q: How is the new fraud repository — CIBIL Detect — launched by you operates? A: As part of a nationwide effort to control risk, the Indian Banks Association (IBA) entrusted CIBIL and TransUnion to develop a nationwide database of financially high risk activities. CIBIL Detect is the first, centralised repository in India on fraudulent activities. This repository is helping banks and financial institutions to share information on potentially high risk customers, minimise frauds and improve profitability. Q: How do you determine the creditworthiness of a first-time borrower just entering the job market? A: Different credit grantors have different lending policies. Therefore, the credit worthiness of first time borrowers will be determined by the credit grantors based on their lending
policy.
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Profile Esther David, an Ahmedabad-born Jew, has been a sculptor and painter, who took to writing in 1997. She has now won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for her book The Man with Enormous Wings. It revisits Gujarat violence of 2002 in a new form. It speaks of the wounds inflicted, the ones that may have healed and the ones whose scars remain as fresh and raw as ever.
Amidst all this is the man with enormous wings — overlooking, flying over his city, the one he thought would be non-violent, from the state where he created salt, and now salt is only there as a means of rubbing it on one’s wounds. During the Gujarat riots in 2002, Esther’s publisher suggested that she should write a novel and weave it round the earthquake and riots. Overcoming her trauma, she signed a contract to write The Man with Enormous Wings. It took her eight years to give shape to the novel by concentrating on specific incidents and people. During the period, she saw how Mahatma Gandhi was forgotten in Gujarat. She thought he would be the perfect character like Alice in Wonderland as he grows wings, changes size and keeps on falling between warring groups of people. “So I made him the central character of my novel”, she says. In the first part of the book, Esther takes the readers through a tour of the city, Ahmedabad, right from the Walking Dargarh to the Shaking Miners to the Divine Laughing Club and many more that make you to want to visit the city. However, at the end of every vignette, there is a loneliness and void — the lord of the emptiness that comes from losing something precious. The second part of the book is vivid in its imagery — starting from and not mincing words about the train that arrived and the storm it brought in its wake. The vignettes then are stark and disturbing with The Man with Enormous Wings providing shelter in his wings to those who are lost and injured. He is conscience of the city who no one wants to listen to. The voice that is buried with the rubble and torn down structures. Esther’s first book, The Walled City, was published in 1997. It is a story about the forces that unite and divide generations and communities in the Walled City of Ahmedabad. Her next book was By the Sabarmati, followed by The Book of Esther, The Book of Rachel. In August 2007, she wrote her first book for teenagers titled My Father’s Zoo. The book was a tribute to her father and contains stories of animals that lived or still live in the Ahmedabad zoo. Her another book Shalom India Housing Society was released on November 4, 2007. Her father, Reuben David, was a hunter-turned-veterinarian. He founded the Kamala Nehru Zoological Garden and Balvatika in Ahmedabad. Her mother, Sarah, was a school teacher. As a child, Esther spent a lot of time in the zoo, watching and communicating with animals her father had nurtured there. Esther grew up in her family house in Ahmedabad city where they had a beautiful library with leather bound books and she spent her spare time reading. At 16, she went to the art school at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara, where she started writing. She realised that she could write. But she became a sculptor and could not change her profession as she soon married and divorced and was single mother of two children. She taught sculpture and art history in an art school in Ahmedabad. In 1979, she became the art critic for an English newspaper’s Ahmedabad edition. She started writing and at the age of 46 she wrote her first novel, The Walled City. Her parents were not religious and so, she did not have religious education. However, at the age of 46, she felt the need of knowing Judaism. She took regular education from the cantor, Johny Pingale of the Magen Abraham Synagogue in Ahmedabad. Salman Rushdie’s Shame and R.K. Narayan’s writings greatly influenced her. My Father’s Zoo was written by Esther on the life and times of her father Reuben and it was dedicated to him and mother Sarah. Esther’s daughter Amrita is a filmmaker in France. Her son Robin, a journalist, has written a book — City of Fear. Her son-in-law is also a journalist with Le Monde in Paris. She is a grandmother of two grandchildren.
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He complained that some of them were acting as lobbyists, either to promote the interests of their own concerns or for others. The Minister pointed out how his own Ministry was sought to be pressurised by some members to further certain interests. The matter has serious ramifications and calls for a national debate. That such things happen has always been widely suspected but the Minister’s allegations are vague, in very general terms and not actionable. If anything, they tend to further erode the falling respect and esteem of the people for their own elected representatives. It is very much like some academics and social activists alleging that all politicians are corrupt and source of all our societal ills.
