Rajya Sabha is a relic of the past

While pleading with fellow members in Rajya Sabha to allow question hour to proceed smoothly, an exasperated chairman of the Upper House recently remarked: "Every single rule in the book, every single etiquette is violated." He went on to deem the Rajya Sabha as a " federation of anarchists ".

About a year ago, marshals were deployed to evict protesting members during the discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill. A couple of years ago, its members committed grave disservice to Indian citizens — the Lokpal Bill, the pre-eminent anti-corruption legislation, which had earlier been passed by the Lower House, was tragically killed in the Rajya Sabha. India can quite easily do away with this anarchy by abolishing the Upper House.

The Rajya Sabha's creation can be attributed to preserving the federal nature of the Union. According to its website, a single directly elected House was considered inadequate to meet the challenges of a vast and diverse India at the time of Independence. A "Council of States" that was smaller, composed of different members to be elected by the elected members of state assemblies and Union Territories, was required.

Increasingly, in 21st century democratic India, the Upper House is more symbolic, cosmetic and has lost its relevance. It should be eliminated for several reasons but primarily for the following four that are sufficient to demonstrate it to be superfluous and a relic of the past.

First, today's Lok Sabha looks a lot like the Rajya Sabha that was perceived at the time of Independence. The fear of states not having enough representation in Parliament is not true anymore. With our polity becoming increasingly fragmented, regions and states are well represented in the Lower House by various parties that have no national interests but narrow regional agendas.

Besides, many regional parties rule states and are here to stay for the long haul. The chief ministers of these states are quite powerful and issues raised by them can be heard around the country. These states actively pursue and protect their interests at the Centre as well as scuttle laws that are inimical to their interests.

The proposal for a National Counter Terrorism Centre was vehemently opposed by state governments that forced the Centre to withdraw the provision. Even in the recently introduced Food Security Bill, the concerns of states are loud and clear than those of parliamentarians. The federal structure of India is sound and regional interests are adequately represented in the Lower House, thus rendering the Upper House redundant.

Secondly, the Upper House has become a paradise for party fund-raisers, losers in elections, crony capitalists, journalists, retired CEOs and civil servants. Three of the last four prime ministers have been elected to the Rajya Sabha without having to face the electorate, clearly an anti-democratic way in the true sense. Governments in the past took advantage of the Upper House to hire lateral talent. Individuals of repute who were either talented or had private sector experience were inducted so they could bring fresh ideas and knowledge in various ministries that desperately needed them.

But, of late, political parties are exploiting the Rajya Sabha to reward power brokers who can raise funds for elections, journalists who support party positions on various issues and civil servants for servility and obeisance. More and more industrialists and former company heads are becoming members with the intention of gaining influence and sway policy. Thus, the Rajya Sabha has become a pseudonym for cronies and an institution that serves vested interests than strengthen the people's agenda.

Thirdly, it has become a platform for parties to further their political agenda than to debate and improve legislation. Important legislations that are passed in the Lok Sabha are scuttled in Rajya Sabha for political reasons. Contrary strategies are adopted by political parties in the Upper and Lower chambers to manoeuvre and manipulate in order to avoid embarrassment to parliamentarians on issues of importance to the country at large.

Meaningful debates are a rare and the Upper House contributes more than its fair share to a dysfunctional Parliament. Given the fragmented political environment of modern Indian politics, it is more of a hindrance to speedy legislative process that the country desperately requires for economic growth and progress.

Finally, the expenditure incurred on the functioning of the Upper House can be reallocated. Members of Parliament of both Houses are treated on equal footing as far as privileges and benefits are concerned. The 250 Rajya Sabha members are paid salaries, awarded perks and retirement benefits and provided local area development grants that run into hundreds of crores of rupees. Savings from elimination of the Upper House can be more gainfully deployed for either building infrastructure or enhancing social development or other meaningful projects.

For governance to improve, India needs to abolish certain institutions, reform others and create new ones. Today, the Rajya Sabha is one such frail institution that is no more required to preserve India's federal nature and in fact contributes more to the dysfunction of Parliament than to legislative process. The time has come to confine it to history and relegate it to our national archives. ( TOI )