Lucknow: Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Friday lashed out at Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), over his call for a “new Constitution” in a newspaper column, terming it an “open breach of his jurisdiction”.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also asked the central government to take immediate action against him. She is the latest, after opposition parties like the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, to target the EAC-PM chairman on the column.
Taking to social media platform ‘X’, Mayawati said: “The Constitution of the country is a guarantee of humanity and egality for the 140 crore poor, backward and neglected people and this is not liked by selfish, narrow and casteist elements, who call for converting it into anti-people and pro-rich. It is everyone’s responsibility to oppose this.”
She further wrote: “The advocacy for a new Constitution by chairman of the Economic Advisory Council Bibek Debroy is an open breach of his jurisdiction which the central government should take note of immediately and take action so that in future, no one can have the audacity to make such unrestrained remarks.”
1. आर्थिक सलाहकार परिषद के चेयरमैन बिबेक देबरॉय द्वारा अपने लेख में देश में नए संविधान की वकालत करना उनके अधिकार क्षेत्र का खुला उल्लंघन है जिसका केन्द्र सरकार को तुरन्त संज्ञान लेकर जरूर कार्रवाई करनी चाहिए, ताकि आगे कोई ऐसी अनर्गल बात करने का दुस्साहस न कर सके। (1/2)
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 18, 2023
Despite allegations of siding with the BJP, Mayawati has made it a point to put forth her stand on several issues in the past, like inflation, unemployment, religious polarisation and casteism etc.
Last month, she had said that while the BSP does not oppose the contentious Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the party felt that the issue was being reignited by the BJP and its government “to hide its faults and distract the public’s attention” from the same.
In a column published in Mint Tuesday, Debroy had called for a new Constitution, stating that there was a need to go back to the drawing board, start from the first principles and ask what the words in the Preamble mean in the present time.
On Thursday, the EAM-PM distanced itself from its chairman’s remarks, stating that the article was written in his “personal capacity” and in no way reflected the views of the EAC-PM of the Government of India.
Debroy meanwhile said Thursday that while every column carries a caveat that it reflects the author’s personal views, it did not happen in his case.
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What Debroy wrote
In the column published in Mint, Debroy wrote, “Much of what we debate begins and ends with the Constitution. A few amendments won’t do. We should go back to the drawing board and start from first principles, asking what these words in the Preamble mean now: socialist, secular, democratic, justice, liberty and equality. We the People have to give ourselves a new Constitution”.
He also mentioned that the Constitution was a colonial legacy in the sense that it was based largely on the Government of India Act of 1935.
“For me, the bedrock is the Constitution. Everything else follows. We no longer possess the one we inherited in 1950. It has been amended, not always for the better, though since 1973 we have been told its ‘basic structure’ cannot be altered, irrespective of what democracy desires through Parliament; whether there is a violation will be interpreted by courts. To the extent I understand it, the 1973 judgment applies to amendments to the existing Constitution, not a fresh one.”
Debroy cited a study by the University of Chicago Law School, which he said had found that the average lifespan of written constitutions around the world is only 17 years. “This is 2023, 73 years after 1950. Our current Constitution is largely based on the Government of India Act of 1935. In that sense, it is also a colonial legacy,” he said in the article.
The EAC-PM chairman also discussed some of the issues that he said should be reconsidered, such as the number of states required in the country, the role of the Supreme Court, Rajya Sabha and the governor.
“How many states do we need? Governance is about providing public goods and there is an optimal level at which these can be provided. Above a threshold of population size or geographical area, a state is sub-optimal, as today’s configuration of states is. The State Reorganisation Commission in 1955 enunciated these logical principles, but state formation has followed anything but that,” he said in the article.
He also questioned the Supreme Court’s authority and oversight over high courts, the process of judicial appointments, and the governor’s function.
“…A major component of governance is law and order and swift dispute resolution. The three recent Bills address the criminal side, partially. The broader aspects of addressing a backlog have been discussed ad nauseam. But what’s the Supreme Court’s role and how much supervisory control does it have over high courts? Little, if we go by the Constitution. What about judicial appointments? What about the governor’s role? The state’s three organs are the executive, legislature and judiciary. There are articles in the Constitution that impede executive efficiency, at least for all-India services,” the article read.
EAC-PM distances itself
Distancing itself from Debroy’s column, a post issued from the official handle of EAC-PM on social media platform X Thursday read, “The recent article by Dr @bibekdebroy was in his personal capacity. In no way do they reflect the views of EAC-PM or the Government of India”.
The recent article by Dr @bibekdebroy was in his personal capacity. In no way do they reflect the views of EAC-PM or the Government of India.
— EAC-PM (@EACtoPM) August 17, 2023
Meanwhile, soon after Opposition parties including the Congress and RJD attacked Debroy for his comments in the column, the EAC-PM chairman on Thursday said that while every column carries a caveat that it reflects the author’s personal views, it did not happen in his case.
“The first thing is that whenever one writes a column, every column always carries the caveat that this column reflects the author’s personal views. It does not reflect the views of the organisation that the individual is associated with… Unfortunately, in this particular case, one has ascribed these views… to the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister,” Debroy told ANI.
He added: “Whenever the EAC to the Prime Minister comes out with views in the public domain, it puts them on the EAC-PM website and tweets them from the handle. In this particular case, nothing of the sort had happened.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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