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It takes a mature politician to explain why the offices of the Prime Minister and President need to be beyond suspicion, in a legal or Constitutional sense, till they demit office. The highest offices in our democracy are not demonstrably above the reach of corrupt practices. Indiscretions and errors of judgment have brought successive Prime Ministers under prosecution after they demitted office. Gubernatorial chambers have faced parentage suits. Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao faced corruption charges almost till his very end. But the consequences of tarnishing the sanctity of the offices held by these individuals can be considerable.
IMPORTANCE OF PM's OFFICE
The nature of the Prime Ministerial or Presidential office needs to be clearly understood. Early vacancies in these offices can turn the history of a nation. They appoint the crème de la crème of the rest of the executive and until recently, most of judiciary. Their choices give rise to intense partisanship and frustration in interest groups. Their preferences steer regional and international geopolitics.
The transformation from a monarchy to a Parliamentary democracy with the Prime Minister as the head of the Executive who is accountable to Parliament, has been achieved through legal and Constitutional guarantees. If the Prime Minister is under constant exposure to examination by an institution lesser than the Parliament to whom he owes full accountability, there is a danger that the supreme status of the Prime Minister could come under duress.
If that seat of power (e.g. Lokpal) is influenced by a powerful, disgruntled domestic interest, or even worse, a powerful foreign economic interest, the policy of government could be influenced. It must not be lost sight of that the Lokpal or any other mechanism will never be as representative as Parliament howsoever problematic its functioning.
THE GREATER DANGER
The trouble here is that the interest groups championing the JanLokpal have closed their minds to the relative consequences of abuse of the supreme offices, as compared with the office of the Lokpal. A degenerate Prime Ministerial office might just cause internal slowdown, while a degenerate Lokpal with the prime executive under its ambit might fully jeopardise democracy and convert it into a legal aristocracy.
We need to understand the relative danger of an inactive prime office which appoints the rest of the Executive and holds the central administrative system intact, as compared with the need to maintain accountability of that office bearer. Influence over him now rises from Parliament. Our experience is that the Prime Ministers have generally been accountable and have been even prosecuted under the law of the land for omissions and commissions.
Going beyond ordinary law and taking the armour off the prime executive office will expose the PM to street-smart busybodies. Pressure to take decisions one way or the other will mount. Lokpal members' whims and fancies could overtake and even replace that of the cabinet ministers. The country's fate would be handed over on a platter to interests which need not even be visible.
(The author is Vice-Chancellor of Kerala Veterinary Animal Sciences University. The views are personal.)
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