The Coalition Years

by Pranab Mukherjee

‘In those 21 months, we comprehensively managed to alienate all sections of the Indian people.’

Self-correction in such situations is always a better option than self-justification.

Going by the debates in the Constituent Assembly, it is clear that the makers of the Indian Constitution did not anticipate that the Upper House could become an impediment to lawmaking and governance.

The latter’s composition is such, that the six states with the highest population and their ruling parties (rather than the ruling party at the Centre) determine the majority in the Rajya Sabha.

Effective parliamentary democracy relies on the 3Ds—Debate, Dissent and Decision. However, over a period of time, a fourth D—‘Disruption’—has been injected into the system.

He is intellectually sharp and well-informed, though he sometimes appears to be arrogant because of his very strong convictions and style of presentation.

I discussed the RBI governor’s views with Singh. I pointed out that Subbarao, who was too much of a monetarist, had been thrust upon me. He was given a two-year extension from September 2011, and continued as the Governor till September 2013. The much-publicized standoff between the RBI and the government stemmed from the fact that Rao had limited understanding of autonomy.141 He maintained that his statutory appointment had authorized him legally to formulate the nation’s monetary policy, and that the government had curbed his authority. However, in reality, the governor only enjoyed functional independence.

Constitutionally, it was the finance minister alone who was accountable to the people. Ironically, as Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in 2007, Subbarao had questioned about the functioning of the RBI. I advised him that a change of assignment need not alter one’s views on issues. FINANCIAL SECTOR REFORMS COMMISSION The other focus of my attention was legislative reforms to the financial sector.