Day 12 – Q 3.A strong and centralising Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) doesn’t resonate with the scheme of governance enshrined in the Constitution. Comment.

3. A strong and centralising Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) doesn’t resonate with the scheme of governance enshrined in the Constitution. Comment. 

एक मजबूत और केंद्रीकृत प्रधान मंत्री कार्यालय (पीएमओ) संविधान में स्थापित शासन की योजना के साथ मेल  नहीं करता। टिप्पणी करें।

Introduction:

With emergence of cabinet form of government, the power of PM has increased and PMO has become the center of power in India democracy. During times of Indira Gandhi, it had gone one step further and was called Kitchen cabinet.

Body:

A strong and centralizing PMO doesn’t resonate with Indian constitution:

• Cabinet Secretary: It diminishes the role of Cabinet secretary and secretariat.
• Concentration of power: In the hands of few bureaucrats and people outside executive.
• Parallel government: The executive structure as mentioned in constitution might be overlooked.
• Council of Minister: Collective responsibility of COM as required by constitution is bypassed.
• Collective decision making: The culture of debates and discussion are absent.
• Rules: The procedure and rules of transactions are foregone.
• Dictatorship: It might lead to rule of PMO rather than council of ministers.
• Checks and Balances: The scrutiny of decision taken is not present. There will be no checks and balances since it is above all power structure.

But a strong and centralizing PMO also has its own merits:

• Faster decision making: It helps in faster decision making as it involved experienced and powerful decision makers.
• Implementation: The orders coming from PMO is taken very seriously and implemented without delay.
• Stable governance: In era of coalition government certain things needs to be kept above party politics to provide stable government.
• Security: Certain functions like RAW, CBI, ISRO etc. report directly to them and they need to be kept out of politics of the day.
• Complexity: increased complexity of governance needs certain set up which can bypass ordinary procedures and get things done at times of emergencies.
• Specialists: Certain function needs specialists and also needs to be done away from public eyes for greater good. Ex: Pokhran-II, External intelligence etc.

Conclusion:

A centralizing and powerful PMO is a hindrance to collective responsibility and democratic set-up of executive but weak PMO might lead to anarchy and policy paralysis and inefficiency. So it has to walk on tight rope and exercise great restrain for maintaining the constitutional form of government.  

Best Answer: No best Answer.