Notes: Parliamentary Democracy | Social Studies & Pedagogy Paper 2 for CTET & TET Exams - CTET & State TET PDF Download

Introduction

India is a parliamentary democracy. The legislature provides powers to the executive and the executive is answerable to the legislature. It is important to know that in a Parliamentary democracy, the head of the government and the head of the state are two different people, but in a presidential democracy, the head of the state and the government would be the same person. The latter is seen in America and the legislature does not provide power to the executive. The United Kingdom and India can be seen as examples of Parliamentary democracy. 

Here, it is also important to know that the idea of a prime ministerial government emerged from the United Kingdom. The Westminster model of Parliamentary democracy prevailed in Commonwealth nations. A nation where there are two houses—upper house and lower house—is called a ‘Bicameral Legislature’.

• In a Parliamentary democracy, there are two houses; one will be elected by the people and is called a lower house and the second would be the upper house, where members would be appointed on various criteria.
• There are many countries in the world which follow the Parliamentary democracy but their way of working and functioning would be different. This difference may occur due to the process of the election of the prime minister, and the kinds of approval that the executive needs from the legislature. The form of accountability of the executive towards the legislature will also be responsible for this variation.
• Therefore, we can say that the Parliamentary government system carries a harmonious relationship of the legislature and executive. If we understand the Parliamentary democracy as discussed, it will give an understanding that the legislature is supreme but over a period of time, this power has been shifted to the Cabinet

To have a good and comprehensive understanding of the Parliamentary democracy, a few important characteristics have been discussed here.

• Prime Minister is Appointed by the Head of the Nation but Elected by the People of the Nation:  The prime ministers work as a representative of the people as elected by the adult franchise, where, every citizen above 18 years of age participates in voting and votes for any political party. The party that receives the highest number of votes is declared the winner. The president appoints the prime minister from the winning party, but the prime minister is actually elected by the people.
• Vote of Confidence: The party that receives the highest number of votes has to gain vote of confidence within a given time; failure of which will lead to no formation of government and the party that received the second highest number of votes will be called to gain vote of confidence and this continues till the government is not formed. 
• Power of De facto: The prime ministers of some nations have the power of de facto, which enables the prime minister to call for an election. Examples of such nations are Denmark, New Zealand, etc. The parliaments of some nations such as Israel have the right to vote for a new party or a re-election against the current government. 
• Constitutional Ruler: It is important to know that all the posts get power from the Constitution. The state head has all the power but these powers are used by the Council of Ministers and therefore, the head of the state will not be the head of the government. This is also called titular rule. 
• No Separation of Power: In all kinds of Parliamentary government, there is absence of separation of power, rather all parts or departments of the government work in harmony and share various functions and powers.
• Lower House Has an Important Role in the Government: In a Parliamentary Government, the lower house has an important role to play than the upper house. The lower house forms the government because it wins the election; therefore, more power resides in the lower house which forms the ministry.
• Accountability towards the Legislature: It is important to know that all elected government or public representatives are accountable towards the legislature for their actions and decisions. Such provisions are done so that a control can be maintained over executive.
• Collective Accountability: There is collective accountability of ministers. It works on the principle of ‘swim together and drown together.’ The cabinet ministers are collectively responsible for any action and the ministry has to remain responsible for the concerned minister. 
• Prime Minister is the Leader of the Nation: In a Parliamentary democracy, the prime minister is the head of the nation. S/he is a leader of the majority party and after becoming the prime minister, s/he enjoys many powers on the name of the president of the nation. His/Her status is equal to all the members of the cabinet but actually, s/he has more decision-making power. In reality, the prime minister is the actual leader of the nation and guides the nation’s policies and associated actions.
• Existence of Opposition: There is a great need to ‘create check and balance’ in all forms in a democratic nation. In such a situation, there is a great need of opposition in the democracy so that a kind of check or control can be maintained on the existing government. Existence of such opposition raises question to the government, which keeps control over the monopoly of the government. Therefore, a strong opposition strengthens Parliamentary democracy. 
• Powerful Cabinet: The cabinet has to play many roles in a Parliamentary system and therefore, loss of power is being used by the cabinet ministers. The cabinet has to draft many policies, keeping national and international agenda in focus. It also takes necessary actions to pass various kinds of bills to effectively run a system. The cabinet also determines or fixes the agenda of the legislature at centre. The annual budget and other financial matters are also taken care of by the cabinet.

Parliamentary Democracy in India

The reason for India’s road to Parliamentary democracy has a history. When India became independent in 1947, a crucial question was raised as to the kind of political system India will be adopting, on which all political and institutional structures will be developed. It was not very easy to take a decision because there were diversities in terms of caste, class, gender, and so on. These existed in their own interests and desires in a free nation. People like Jay Prakash Narayan were in favour of a rational and scientific system in polity. Mahatma Gandhi was in favour of a decentralised system, where moral ethics should be the guiding principles of polity. The need for economic development and political stability required immediate agenda. Accountability was needed towards the people of the nation.

Here, it is important to highlight that the effect of the colonial nation (Britain) certainly influenced our political system and therefore, the Parliamentary democracy was simply adopted as a tool or device to run India as a nation, where the President is the head of the state and uses all powers through the prime minister (head of the government). The judiciary has its own significant role to play.

• The executive comes from the legislature and is also accountable towards it. The prime minister is the head of the executive. This head is not permanent and there is a provision of periodic elections. This provision was done to keep a control over the executive and its functioning.
• Political parties are another important feature of parliamentary system. There are parties with varied ideologies which work effectively in favour of Parliamentary democracy. Sometimes, these parties make the Parliamentary process difficult.
• Unorganised and unstable rules and legislature create problems for the smooth functioning of a Parliamentary democracy. Such a system will not be able to work for social welfare. Nor will it be able to deal with and cater to the needs of the people of a diverse nation.
• The Parliamentary system is also taken up at the state level, where ministers enjoy their autonomy and respect the federal form of system and unity of the union. Here, the state is independent but has a close relationship with the centre and keeps the Parliamentary spirit alive. However, it is also important to understand that in India, the Constitution is supreme and not the Parliament. The Parliament works according to the Constitution but can make necessary changes in the Constitution as per the need. These changes are subject to project the fundamental rights of the people of the nation.
• In brief, we can say that all the rules are legitimised by the Parliament. It is the responsibility of Parliament to maintain all kinds of individual and collective actions of members. It is also interesting to know that the Indian parliamentary system is different from the Westminster model. Here, the heads of the state are elected and not nominated like in the Westminster model. In India, the head of the state works as a rubber stamp, but another view says that s/he has substantial powers.
• When we refer to the Indian Parliament, we talk about Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and the President collectively. These agencies have their specific roles to play which we have already discussed in the earlier chapters. It is also important to know that the President has enough powers with reference to the legislature. Any bill takes form of a legislation after it is signed by the President. Generally, the President does not stop it, but s/he may stop it if s/he feels there are some issues in the bill. In such cases, the bill will be sent back to the Parliament.
• The prime minister exercises more power than the President and therefore, this system is called the ‘Prime Ministerial form’ of government. The other ministers work under the supervision of the prime minister. If we evaluate our history, we can easily understand that instead of the prime minister, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has become more powerful. Today, the PMO plays an important role in crucial decision-making.
• There is a fusion of the legislature and the executive in the Indian government, where the executive is selected out of the legislative and the executive is a branch of legislative in a sense.

Here, it is important to highlight that if there is a government of a majority party, there is hardly any discussion on issues and policies; rather, the entire process becomes a mockery because with a clear majority, the ruling party can make laws and regulations as they want. The other house may create some delays but finally, the bill will get passed in favour of the majority party in the Lok Sabha.

• In all such discussion on Parliamentary democracy, one cannot forget the role of people of the nation in this regard. People give a mandate to a political party through adult franchise to form the government. Sometimes, this mandate is clearly given to one party and sometimes, there will be collation of two or more political parties. If we examine our history, such kind of clear mandate was given to Rajiv Gandhi, and was not given to other leaders of the Congress; but in 1989, the Congress faced great defeat in elections. Similarly, if we analyse the elections of the present government, we will be able to see that the BJP won at the centre with clear majority, but was badly defeated in the Delhi elections. What is more important here is that the people of the nation have the power to change their mandate during elections and the Indian Parliamentary democracy has seen this massive change in people’s mandate.
• All such events have made the Indian government unstable many times but the roots of Parliamentary democracy have not been shaken. Today, we see a mature and strong Parliamentary system. Though, there are some issues and problems, they are a sign of the developmental attitude of any governing system; therefore, we must take it as a positive side of an evolving Parliamentary democratic system.
• In brief, the executive head is not directly elected by the people of the nation, but s/he holds a position of a leader of a majority party, which receives clear mandate to form the government. The prime minister selects his/her ministers of cabinet (Members of Parliament only). The cabinet is accountable to the Parliament and if it loses confidence in the Parliament, the prime minister has to leave the office.

The following features are present in a Parliamentary system: 

• Power is centred on the Parliament. 
• The head of the state and head of the government collectively constitute the Parliament.
• The head of the government is appointed by the head of the state. The President appoints the prime minister, the leader of majority party.
• Cabinet ministers are collectively responsible to the Parliament.
• The head of the state can dissolve the Parliament as per the suggestions of the head of the government.
• Collegiate system provides more power to the executive. 
• The appointed prime minister has full power to select ministers for the cabinet.

Advantages of Parliamentary Democratic System

1. Collectiveness and Togetherness of the Executive and the Legislature: In a Parliamentary democratic system, the executive is a branch of the legislative and therefore, there is a possibility that laws will be made easily at the right time. It is known as a quick legislation, though a government may be made up after collation of various parties. In such cases, the situation may not be the same and various kinds of conflicts can be aroused. This system is different from the Presidential system, where election of the executive is different from the legislature and there are possibilities that a member of the legislature and executive belong to different political parties. 
2. Division of Power: In a Parliamentary governmental system, power is shared or divided at various levels and sectors but in a Presidential system, power is centric to the President. Therefore, collegial executive is the strength of the Parliamentary system. One can also say that the power is spared our in various political structures. 
3. Permanent Upper House: The Parliamentary system has one permanent upper house. The members change after a period of time; in India, it is one-third members every two years. The members are given a total time period of six years. This House provides strength to Parliamentary democracy as it represents the point of view of states. It provides time and space for discussion on any bill to make it more effective for the masses. 

Criticism of Parliamentary Democratic System

One of the critiques of the Parliamentary system is that in almost in all forms of Parliamentary democracy, the head of the state is not directly elected by people of the nation. Therefore, the head of the state does not have actual political and other kinds of power. 

• A collegial system is good for quick legislation but if we analyse this system, we will know that the executive becomes more powerful indirectly and the executive is a branch of legislature. 
• In the absence of a clear mandate, a kind of malfunctioning can be created in the Parliament, which hinders the process of legislature and executive. 
• The permanent House of the parliament has a great role to play in legislation. However, it has very limited power on various kinds of bills in comparison with Lok Sabha. This power decreases as far as the financial bill is concurred.
• Another point which is important to mention here is that there is no independent body (in the true sense) which can oppose the decision taken by the Parliament. Therefore, there is hardly any substantial control of the legislative power of the Parliament.