Unlike Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha commands mandate of people: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister on Thursday reignited the debate on supremacy of Lok Sabha over Rajya Sabha saying, the directly elected House has a significant role in decision making in a democracy as it is elected on a manifesto unlike the Upper House.

Jaitley, who had first raised the debate few months ago when Opposition parties using their majority had stalled the GST Bill in Rajya Sabha, said the mandate of people is with the Lok Sabha or the Lower House which is directly elected.

On why the bonhomie witnessed in cricketing matters where leaders across party line dissolve differences in deciding the fate of the sport, is not witnessed in Parliamentary politics, he said: "Well politics is not cricket".

Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Jaitley said however that no Bill was perpetually blocked by Rajya Sabha since the beginning of reforms in 1991.

"If you see pragmatically the party character in India, I don't foresee in reasonable future a government which has at any point of time an absolute majority in the Upper House.

"We have political parties in the regions which are strong, they win their own regions, and therefore those who sit in the Centre as far as the Upper House is concerned will always be the balances," Jaitley said.

The minister was replying to a question on supremacy of Lok Sabha, which has already passed a bill to create a unified common market for all commodities (Goods and Services Tax), over Rajya Sabha.

"There is view of inter-house relationship in the bicameral system. You have to bear two facts in mind that the Lower House is a directly elected House so the mandate principle clearly indicated that the mandate is with the lower House," he said.

Stating that the Lok Sabha is elected on a manifesto, he said, this was unlike Rajya Sabha which is elected by States.

"Therefore these being two underlying criteria -- the mandate principle and manifesto principle -- the directly elected House therefore has a significant role in decision making in democracy," Jaitley said.
Jaitley said that since 1991, when the reform process started, not a single legislation which has been abandoned altogether because the Upper House has been blocked.

"At the end of the day, through the checks and balances, amendments, alterations, consultations, consensus has been built. There have been delays, but there hasn't been an indefinite abandonment of any legislative measure," he said.

Giving example of how similar issue was resolved in a bicameral democracy in England where the Labour Party could not carry out reform measures due to blockade in the Upper House, Jaitley said Indian democracy will have to have to solve this.

"We will have to either follow the practice we have been following that by consensus we come to a particular view otherwise you will have a situation in a bicameral system where indirectly elected Houses veto the decisions repeatedly of a directly elected House. Now Indian democracy will always have to find an answer to this," he said.

When asked about the Supreme Court striking down the NJAC Act, Jaitley said there was complete political consensus on that and although the Court decision was final, it may not infallible.

"Even if today, the matter is to be re discussed in Parliament, Parliament would be almost of the similar opinion ... I have always believed that the Court's view on this (NJAC) subject is final, at the same time I have also said it is not infallible. I do hope this error into which they have fallen in is corrected at some stage," he said.

The NDA government had in October suffered a setback with the Supreme Court striking down as NJAC Act which gave a major role to the executive in appointing judges to higher judiciary.

The ambitious National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 to replace the 22-year-old collegium system of judges appointing judges was struck down by a five-judge Constitution Bench.

(with PTI inputs)