LEGISLATORS IN INDIA: A COMPARISON OF MLAs IN FIVE STATES Virinder Kumar Chopra Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D Department of Government London School of Economics & Political Science University of London December 1993 UMI Number: U554619 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U554619 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT This study, encompassing five of India’s twenty-five states with 42.4% of its population, is the first comparative evaluation of India’s state-level legislators (MLAs). So far research on MLAs has resulted in a series of studies in individual states largely focused on their changing socio-economic background and political socialization. The present enquiry extends this to examine their activities, effectiveness, role perceptions, and attitudes particularly in relation to national issues. The selected states were chosen to represent the diversity of India along regional, ethnic and linguistic lines and also to represent five different political parties in India which display different sub-cultures and ideologies: Uttar Pradesh - Hindi heartland, India’s most populous state (population 139 million, 1991, ruling party BJP, 1991/2); Maharashtra - Western region, India’s commercial capital (79 million, Cong.I); West Bengal - Eastern region, a longstanding and flourishing leftist government (68 million, CPI(M) led Left-front); Tamilnadu - Southern region, ruled by regional parties since 1967 (56 million, DMK); and Haryana - Northern region, a prosperous agricultural state (16 million: Janata Dal, 1990). The research is based upon face to face interviews of at least an hour’s length with MLAs in these five states. The data reported are largely quantitative but rest upon qualitative and inter-active contents. The findings are three fold: first, provincial legislators, whether in Hindi heartland or elsewhere, have a commitment to the concept and unity of India; second, in the light of the secondary literature on legislative roles, MLAs in India are on balance closer to the “errand-boy” model than to the Westminster model of legislators holding, at least theoretically, the executive to account; third, there are significant variations in terms of socio-economic backgrounds and the perceptions of various state level and national issues between different states and different parties. MLAs, irrespective of their state or party and by virtue of their strategic position in the middle strata between the apex and base of society, are a vital and sensitive link in the process of political integration in India. These intermediate elites are largely “politically bilingual” with a capability to relate to both the elite above and the “masses” below. This makes them not only effective channels of communication but also an influential mediating linkage between the two. India’s current population is over 850 million and this populous democracy is ultimately articulated by 545 MPs at national level. But the author argues that some 4000 provincial legislators, as an important component of India’s intermediate elite, are crucial to the stability of India. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 2 Maps and Tables 6 Acknowledgements 12 Abbreviations 13 I. INTRODUCTION 15 The Thesis 18 Background 23 An Overview 27 Institutional Decline 33 Centre -* Periphery 36 Periphery -» Centre 39 The Structure of the Thesis 43 H. INDIA’S PROVINCIAL LEGISLATORS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE 45 A Brief Perspective on Legislatures 45 Categories of Legislatures 47 Functions of Legislatures 51 Legislators 54 Representation in Developing Countries 63 The Indian MLAs 68 Review of the literature 70 m. SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF MLAs 79 Introduction 79 Residence 81 -Party-wise 86 Occupation 88 -Party-wise 92 Education 95 -Party-wise 102 IV. POLITICAL ATTITUDES AND BACKGROUND 106 Motivation to join Politics 106 -Party-wise 112 Background of Political Activity 115 -Party-wise 119 Changing Political Affiliations 122 -Party-wise 124 V. CONSTITUENCY ISSUES 126 MLAs and their Constituents 126 -Party-wise 135 Type of requests by the visitors -Party-wise 138 Organisation in Constituencies 139 -Party-wise 141 VI. ASSEMBLY ACTIVITY 143 Value of Speaking in the Assembly 146 -Party-wise 150 Perceived value in the work of Legislative Committees 153 -Party-wise 158 3 Answers to questions in Assembly 160 -Party-wise 166 Combined Index of Assembly Activity 169 -Party-wise 170 Perceived participation in Assembly debates 171 -Party-wise 174 v n . ROLE PERCEPTION OF MLAs 178 MLA as a Representative 179 -Party-wise 182 Main Role-behaviour of MLAs 183 -Party-wise 188 Vm. SOCIAL STATUS OF MLAs 198 MLAs’ perception of their Social Status 199 -Party-wise 201 State Assembly or National Parliament 203 -Party-wise 207 IX.GENERAL 211 Sources of Finance for Election Campaign 211 -Party-wise 216 MLAs’ Travel Experience 219 -Party-wise 220 Nature of Media read by MLAs 220 -Party-wise 222 X. PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE IN STATE ASSEMBLIES 224 Committees in Legislatures 225 Classification of Committees 226 Purposes of Committees 227 Committees in India 231 Public Accounts Committee in State Legislatures 232 ANNEXURE X. A. 1 TO CHAPTER X 241 Haryana Public Accounts Committee 241 Case studies from the reports of PAC in Haryana Case I 242 Case n 244 Maharashtra Public Accounts Committee 245 Case studies from the reports of PAC Maharashtra Case I 245 Case n 248 Case m 249 Tamilnadu Public Accounts Committee 250 Case studies from the reports of PAC Tamilnadu Case I 251 Case II 252 Case m 252 4 West Bengal Public Accounts Committee 253 Case studies from the reports of PAC West Bengal Case I 254 Case H 256 Case m 256 Case IV 257 Uttar Pradesh Public Accounts Committee 258 Case studies from the reports of PAC Uttar Pradesh Case I 260 Case H 261 PART TWO: VIEWS ON NATIONAL ISSUES 263 XI. INDIA’S MOST CRITICAL PROBLEMS 266 India’s Most Critical Problems -Party-wise 276 XH. VIEWS ON OVER-POPULATION AND POVERTY 285 Perception of Over-population 287 -Party-wise 293 Reasons for persistence of Poverty 298 -Party-wise 301 XIE. PERCEPTION OF CORRUPTION IN POLITICS 310 Views on Corruption -Party-wise 317 XIV. VIEWS ON CASTE BASED RESERVATIONS: 322 Views on Caste-based Reservations -Party-wise 331 XV. VIEWS ON PANCHAYATI RAJ 337 Views on Panchayati Raj -Party-wise 346 XVI. VIEWS ON CENTRE-STATE RELATIONS 351 Views on Centre-state Relations -Party-wise 357 x v n . VIEWS ON NATIONAL INTEGRATION 359 Role of religion in national integration 360 -Party-wise 363 Role of language in national integration 364 -Party-wise 368 Role of politics in national integration 370 -Party-wise 374 xvm.CONCLUSION 377 Summary 378 Final Inferences 387 APPENDIX 1 393 Questionnaire 393 APPENDIX 2 400 Public Accounts Committee, Rules of procedure 401 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 409 5 MAPS Map 1: Map of India: Five States 14 TABLES Table HI. 1 State-wise strength of different Political parties (1990-91) 81 Table HI. 2 Residential Background of MLAs in Sampled States (1990-92) 82 Table HI.3 Residential background of MLAs (Party-wise) 86 Table HI. 4 Main Occupations of MLAs 88 Table HI. 5 Main Occupations of MLAs (Party-wise) 93 Table HI.6 Educational Background of MLAs 99 Table HI. 7 Educational Background of MLAs (Party-wise) 103 Table IV. 1 Motivation to Join Politics 108 Table IV.2 Motivation to Join Politics (Party-wise) 113 Table IV.3 Political Background of MLAs 116 Table IV.4 Political background of MLAs (Party-wise) 119 Table IV.5 Number of MLAs who changed Party Affiliation one or more times during their career 123 Table IV. 6 Number of MLAs who changed Party Affiliation once or more times during their career (Party-wise) 124 Table V. 1 Estimated average daily visitors while in Constituency 128 Table V.2 Type of Requests made by the Constituents 129 Table V.3 Estimated average daily visitors while in Constituency (Residence-wise) 134 Table V.4 Estimated average daily visitors while in Constituency (Party-wise) 135 Table V.5 Index of Visitors (Party-wise) 137 Table V.6 Residence-wise Index of Visitors 138 6 Table V.7 Type of requests made by the Constituents (Party-wise) Table V.8 Organisation in Constituencies Table V.9 Organisation in Constituencies (Party-wise) Table V.10 Organisation in Constituencies (Party-wise excluding Maharashtra) Table VI. 1 Views of MLAs on Assembly Activity (Speaking in Assembly) Table VL2 Index of the Value of Speaking in the Assembly Table VI.3 Views of MLAs on Assembly Activity (Speaking in the Assembly: Party-wise) Table VI.4 Index of the Value of Speaking in the Assembly (Party-wise) Table VI.5 Views of MLAs on Assembly Activity (Work of Legislative Committees) Table VL6 Index of perceived value of Legislative Committees Table VI.7 Views of MLAs on Assembly Activity (Work of Legislative Committees: Party-wise) Table VL8 Index of the perceived value of Legislative Committees (Party-wise) Table VI.9 Views of MLAs on Assembly Activity (Answers to Questions in Assembly) Table VI. 10 Index of response whether the answers to questions in assembly are generally satisfactory Table VI. 11 Views of MLAs on Assembly Activity (Answers to Questions in Assembly: Party-wise) Table VI. 12 Index of response whether the answers to questions in assembly are generally satisfactory (Party-wise) Table VI.