Prime Minister Modi’s cabinet promulgated the ninth ordinance on Wednesday 6th January. Earlier, it had promulgated eight ordinances relating to land acquisition, the cap on foreign investment in insurance, coal mining license allocation, changes to the TRAI Act and other issues.
Prime Minister Modi’s cabinet promulgated the ninth ordinance on Wednesday 6th January. Earlier, it had promulgated eight ordinances relating to land acquisition, the cap on foreign investment in insurance, coal mining license allocation, changes to the TRAI Act and other issues.
Article 123 of the Indian Constitution gives the right to the President of India to promulgate an ordinance if neither House of Parliament is in session and “circumstances exist, which render it necessary for him to take immediate action”. The Parliament was in session when several of these ordinances were promulgated, and not always were the proceeding disrupted. In several cases the bill was not even attempted to be tabled in Parliament. There has been consistent opposition from the working class, peasants and the affected people to the legislation effected by these ordinances. It is evident that the ruling NDA is clearly fulfilling the claims of the biggest capitalists to further privatise and liberalise various sectors of the economy.
Ordinances have been passed by governments since the 1950s. It was Nehru and Ambedkar who fought for its inclusion during the Constituent Assembly debates. Through Article 123, the Constitution ensures that the executive is not bound by even the parliament when it comes to ordaining rules – let alone the people. The Constitution of India has thus clearly vested sovereignty in the executive, not in the people or even in the parliament.
The Constitution is designed to give controlling powers to the Executive so that judicial reviews or election verdicts do not come in the way of implementing reforms and ensuring continued profits for the big business houses and monopolies. For an ordinance to remain law, it must eventually be approved by Parliament. However, under Parliamentary rules, there are special procedures that could make it easier for the government to ultimately win Parliament’s approval for these ordinances.
A study of ordinances passed over the years show that this executive power has been used to uphold the interest of the big capitalists and their state. For example, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created in 1997 first by an ordinance and then by an Act of Parliament. Telecom monopolies put pressure on the government to bring in a new liberalised regime through an ordinance. Similarly, the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Ordinance was promulgated in 1998, for rationalising electricity tariffs (meaning hiking tariffs) when the government found it difficult to pass the concerned Bill in the legislature.
Every time an ordinance is promulgated, the opposition cries foul and complains of overturning democracy. However, without exception, every party has used this Constitutional provision to promulgate ordinances in the interest of the ruling class. This is yet another example of the truth that the Indian Constitution serves the interests of the capitalist ruling class.