Parliamentary Democracy and Accountability

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This book "Parliamentary Democracy and Accountability" was written some years ago by my father Late Umeshwar Prasad Varma. But for one reason or the other, it could not be published. I take it as my privilege and responsibility (as a son) to get this book published posthumously. There is absolutely no change either in the matter or in the arrangement of it in fact, it would be unfair to do any kind of editing.

My father late U. P. Varma began his career as lecturer in R.D. &D.J. College, Munger, a Constituent unit of Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur ( Bihar ), latter he was promoted as Head of the Department of Commerce, then Vice- Principal and finally as the Principal of the same College. He was a voracious reader and would read almost anything that he would lay his hands on-be it an autobiography, a book on statecraft, a book on sociology or politics or even pure fiction. In fact, he had a perspective of his own on the contemporary society with a vision to liberate it from the evil of bondages.

In 1970, he was elected a member of the Legislative Council of Bihar, from Teachers Constituency, where he continued to be for thirty years without any interruption. During this period, he served the Govt. of Bihar as a Cabinet Minister for about five years-holding portfolio as Health & Family Welfare, Irrigation, Excise, Forest and Low. Also, he became as Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council and later, leader of the Opposition in the House. In 2000, he opted out of active politics for two reasons first, his weak health and secondly he found himself to be unsuitable for the present politics. He said "good bye" to politics.

But he was as ever a very alert mind. With his rich experience "as a political being" and his firm perspective based on that along with his deep study of the craft of politics, he was perhaps the most suitable person to author this book.

I am sure this book will be appreciated by both: (a) the general readers and (b) the active politicians, in the right perspective.

In a way, it is also my way of paying homage to my respected father.

Dr. Umeshwar Prasad Varma, (22.9.1922-24.4.2002) D. Litt began his career as a lecturer in R.D. & D.J.College, Munger, a constituent unit of Bhagalpur University. Later he was promoted as Head of the Deptt., then Vice Principal and finally as the Principal and Professor. He got his D.Litt Degree on his research work "Public Control and Regulation of Private Enterprise in India".

Dr. Varma got elected to Bihar Legislative Council in 1970 from the Teachers Constituency and continued for 30 long years without any break.

He was inducted in the Bihar Ministry as a Cabinet Minister for nearly five years holding portfolios as Health, Irrigation, Excise, Forest and Low. In 1986 he became the Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council on which post he continued till 1994, with distinction as a Presiding Officer.

The following press comments speaks- about this man as a Minister.

"The Bihar Minister for Excise, Dr. Umeshwar Prasad Varma, recently booked a number of senior officials for their alleged involvement in multi crore racket., The Minister ait headlines last month when he unearthed a big scandal involving Rs. 2 crore, (Statesman, New Delhi.August. 1984) ". "Dr. Varma is the first Minister to go deep into the Singhbhum Forest and study the situation created by tribal extremists (Editorial, The Indian Nation, August 1984)."

Dr. Varma has several books to his credits, both on general and Parliamentary affairs. "Rajiv Gandhi and Morality in Public Affairs" and "Low, Legislature and Judiciary" have been well received and spoken of by Judges, Jurists and Scholars.

The most marked of all modern political tendencies has been the rapid drift towards parliamentary democracy, in spite of its perversion and false form/Parliamentary democracy as a method of government in this respect has become more suspect and yet present-day people and politics are today clamoring for it; firstly, because they feel it easy to adopt false form of democracy the genuine and true form and, secondly, with a little of manipulation, money and muscle a political group can come to political power and enjoy it as long as they can be able to create and maintain such a situation. One can thus see the popularity of parliamentary democracy, but only in the amoral grab of perverse and false form mostly common in most countries.

It must, however, be admitted that parliamentary democracy in the genuine and basically true form which Abraham Lincoln defined as the government of the people, by the people and for the people is actually a very difficult form of government based and developed on the very hard rules of morality and political norms and accountability of the government towards the people. Politicians have come to prefer and adopt the spurious forms of parliamentary system and pray and pay lip-service to parliamentary democracy, which in public eye has degraded its importance.

As a system of government, parliamentary democracy or any other, is established and operated by men; the system does not grow and function on their own. At every state of their existence they are what they are made by human agency, consequently their success or failure depends mainly upon the capacity and interest of those who operate it.