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What Is India’s Parliamentary Democracy?

gandhi statue outside parliament

Democracy is the rule of law by people elected by the citizens. Democracy can only be thriving if it is governed following the Constitution and the laws on which equal rights are important. There are two types of democracies in the world: Presidential Democracy and Parliamentary Democracy.

In a presidential democracy, the people elect their president. All powers are concentrated and controlled by one person. In a parliamentary democracy, a political party controls the power of the majority of the elected legislators. There is no significant difference between the two. The success of democracy depends on the integration of the four elements: the Constitution, the regulatory framework, the legislature and the judiciary.

Of these, India has adopted a parliamentary democracy ruled by the political party that gets a majority in the elections. People choose political parties in the elections following the economic policies and development perspectives propagated by a majority of the political parties. Democracy is successful when it is governed by political parties that win more than 50% of the vote.

In a parliamentary democracy, the people elect legislators to make laws that are important for equal rights, to make necessary amendments to the Constitution and the legal system, to make necessary rules and penalties for effective administrative controls.

Parliamentary democracy can only succeed if the minimum support (minimum vote share) required for elected political parties to represent Parliament is maintained. This is possible only when the number of political parties is low. It can only succeed if there are provisions in the Constitution for the formation of political parties, their modes of operation, the minimum percentage of votes they should receive and the methods of governance to be followed if they get a majority in elections.

In a parliamentary democracy, the people elect legislators to make laws that are important for equal rights, to make necessary amendments to the Constitution and the legal system, to make necessary rules and penalties for effective administrative controls.

If governance is not following the Constitution, laws and regulations, then why govern? Not to rule or obey party whips. The majority political parties govern it. Political parties must carry out these tasks with the help of people who are capable and knowledgeable. No caste or regional pressures should be reflected in the administration. Governance should be per the economic and development policies set out in the manifestos of the parties. Only then can parliamentary democracy succeed.

When it comes down to it, contestants, no matter who they are, must know common law and common justice, be honest and be chaste. These eligibility criteria should be set out in the Constitution. The people should have the right to ban, disqualify or recall parties from contesting general elections for life if they act against parliamentary democracy after the elections. Such tendencies should be charged with treason and the political parties involved should be banned for a specified period. The power of the people over them should be written in the Constitution.

Power must be decentralised in a democracy. Accordingly, the administrative levels, the people and the government come face to face only at the local level. Central and State Governments should deal only with matters generally affecting the country and the State, such as National Security, Foreign Policy, Homeland Security, Public Education Policies, Public Health, Industrial Policies, Minerals Policies, Agricultural Policies and Forest and Environmental Policies.

Control over the daily lives of the people must be vested at the local level. Proper constitutional decentralisation and decentralisation are possible if the provisions of the Constitution are as follows.

Effective democracy, governance, functions only when the judiciary and the bureaucracy are divided per the democratic divide, should their procedures and government policies be implemented under clear and precise rules and regulations.

Do not follow instructions from higher levels. If the bureaucracy and the Constitution are regulated under the directives of the higher echelons, there is a risk of corruption and malpractice.

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