Two Party Federal Government: The Hope for India!

Impossible!

That was the first word I heard when I presented the idea of a two party presidential form of Democracy to a friend. But when I sit down and think of what is happening in the country with more that 100 parties with those many agendas and 4 coalitions at the centre and countless at the state level, chaos is the only word that comes to mind.
Horse Trading, Conditional Supports, Stalling of development, multiple ideologies working in different directions, money laundering and what not. A coalition government has been and seemed to have been involved in all this and much more. If a government gets elected on its manifesto and forms a coalition, there is no guarantee it will abide the same. Common Minimum Programs are more of vote bank politics and less of development agenda. Everyone should be happy! A good mantra if applied to a common man but a bad shastra if applied to political parties.

Prajatantra me neta janta ka sevak kahelata hai, janata ka man janata ko raja kahkar bahelata hai,

Par chunav ke baad yahan sab kuch ulta ho jata hai, sevak raja ka sab dhan lekar champat ho jata hai,

Sevak ke hai aish desh me raja bhookha soye re!

– Baba Satya Narayan Mourya

Compare this, when a company is formed, the promoters first appoint a CEO and then give him the responsibility to choose his team and give the results they want with accountability on his own shoulders. And this where the promoters choose a team of 100 managers and then ask them to choose their own CEO!! Do you think the managers discharge fair duties when they know that the CEO they chose is their own man? Will the promoter have the same faith in the CEO? Will the CEO be as accountable as in the first case? To my mind such a CEO will more be a union leader and less a Profit Maker.

The promoters are the People of our country, The CEO is the Prime Minister and the team is his cabinet. The system we follow is the second one. And what follows that is seen by this country for over 6 decades now. The prime ministers have been more accountable to their parties, allies, cabinets, corporates etc, and the least accountable to the people of India!

And the fun part is that the so called all powerful voter never gets to choose the CEO (Prime Minister). He merely chooses a manager of his area. Oh forget the idea of declaring the prime ministerial candidates well before the elections!! They change faster than a chameleon.

Now that I have a strong preface in place, let me count the advantages of the other side. The first big thing in a Presidential form of government is that I CHOOSE WHO LEADS THE COUNTRY DIRECTLY. The centre and the state all should go to the elections simultaneously and the party at the centre should also rule ALL THE STATES. This can happen only in a two party system. Accountability will be the highest in this case with no centre leader blaming the opposing party in the state and vice versa. With only two options in place there will be no hung houses for ever! So goodbye Horse Trading and False promises and Common Minimum Programs. The voter should be allowed to choose from top to bottom that is the PM, the CM, MLA and MP in one single ballot.

Impossible!

Did you just say that? I know it is difficult, but there is nothing which is not possible. And the politicians of our country will not bring about this change because the ATM function is all but lost in this form of government. So the people have to do something about it. I am still trying to find a good way to do the same. Do you have any suggestion to make??

Let’s hope the following lines are never re-written by another poet who is hurt!

Kursi maayi jisne paayi seva ka dekar nara, jhute, chappal, gehun, topeyn, shakkar khayi aur chaara,

Nazar jamao vahin nazar me aajate ghotale hain, ghotalon ki jaanch me usse bhi bhari ghotalen hain,

– Baba Satya Narayan Mourya

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