No whip,please

The nominated Rajya Sabha member should remain above partisan politics

The nominated Rajya Sabha member should remain above partisan politics

Is it any coincidence that the two nominated Rajya Sabha members who have subjected themselves to a party whip are part of the Congress,a party where the high command is an article of faith? Mani Shankar Aiyar and Bhalchandra Mungekar continued a less-than-desirable tradition of nominated Rajya Sabha MPs exercising the option to accept party membership only 17 of 119 nominated members have taken the option since Rajya Sabha was set up. And 14 of those,not surprisingly,have been Congress partisans.

The Upper House has lost much of its sheen anyway. There are insistent allegations of seats being sold to the highest bidder. The Election Commission on Friday stopped counting votes in Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand because of allegations of horse-trading by Jharkhand Vikas Morcha chief Babulal Marandi. Votes are no longer being counted in Uttarakhand as well. Nominated members have the option to keep their distance from such political deals and bargains.

They are expected to elevate discourse. The founding fathers,including Jawaharlal Nehru,envisioned that nominated members would bring into the House a debate that elected representatives might not. N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar said in the Constituent Assembly in 1947 that we… give an opportunity… to seasoned people who may not be in the thickest of the political fray,but who might be willing to participate in the debate with an amount of learning and importance which we do not ordinarily associate with the House of the People. It is important that these individuals,who have each excelled in their chosen field,bring their own unique perspective to parliamentary proceedings,rather than tailor their opinions to fit the political partys agenda. Outside the House,Aiyar often seems unbound and unburdened by his partys whim. Its a pity he chose to tie his hands inside.