Pitfalls of Parliament Debate on China

On 3rd December External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar made a suo moto statement in the Lok Sabha and informed the members about current state of relations between India and China after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sideliners of the 16th BRICS summit meeting in Kazan on 23rd October. The opposition parties, particularly the Congress Party have time and again voiced their criticism of government’s handling of country’s relations with China after the bloody clash between the two armies in the LAC on 15th June 2020. This time around the opposition also tried to raise questions and discuss the issue. The Parliamentary rules does not permit a discussion on a suo moto statement unless there is a motion moved by the House and admitted by the Speaker. The issue raises a question, should Parliament discuss a sensitive and delicate issue like India-China relations at a time when the two sides are in the thick of recalibrating the frosty relations? Engagement with a neighbour, more so with a difficult neighbour like China, is a strategic necessity, rather than an option. The government has to figure out how best to engage and deal with the complex matrix of the relationship.

Understanding of the role of Parliament on foreign policy issues will be instructive to appreciate the stance of the government with regard to the demand by the opposition for a discussion on the delicate India-China relations in Parliament which is currently passing through trying times. As a sovereign body overseeing the executive accountability, the Parliament and the members have the right to discuss anything and everything on the floor of the House as guaranteed under the freedom of the speech subject, however, to reasonable restrictions. Foreign policy issues are, however, a different ball game. In a Parliamentary polity like India, the executive has the prerogative on foreign policy issues. Motions approving or expressing opinions in the Parliament, are at best declaratory. Moreover, ideally speaking, cross-party agreement inhibits Parliament’s involvement in foreign policy. A broad consensus does exist among political parties on foreign policy issues. Electorally, the Opposition leaders will see the merit of being seen to support the government when it is acting in the national interest.

Among all bilateral relations of India, the complex and complicated India-China relations is most conspicuous in the political mainstream including in the portals of Parliament and its committees. The most compelling reason for this is the imperatives of nationalism, the persistent security dilemma between the two countries and the strategic rivalry and the competitive nature of their political systems and their impact on the psyche of the electorate. Although foreign policy issues generally do not affect the electoral politics in India, as India’s relations with China is entangled with national security and territorial integrity of the country, the opposition political parties at times have attempted to score brownie points over the government.

India’s experience of a heated and charged debate in Parliament in the past after the border war in 1962 suggests, it is better to the leave the government to deal with the sensitive India-China issue and fully trust the intents of the government. A heated debate hardens the attitude and adversely affect the process of dialogue and political parleys. If the government can, as it has done, secure legitimate national interests diplomatically, politically and militarily, it makes very little sense to spoil the broth through a no hold bar discussion on the floor of the House. Perhaps an informed debate on India’s economic engagement with China such as the desirability of Chinese investments, can be useful.

After the Chinese attack in October 1962, when National Emergency was declared, Prime Minister Nehru moved a resolution in the House on 8th November and the resolution was discussed for log six days and on 14th November, the resolution was adopted. The resolution inter alia, stated, “… with hope and faith, this House affirms, the firm resolve of the Indian people to drive out the aggressor from the sacred soil of India, however, long and hard the struggle may be.” On 24th, 1962 the Chinese government proposed a cease-fire which India rejected on the grounds that that it was aimed at securing physical control of areas which were never under Chinese administrative control. On 21st November 1962, the Chinese declared unilateral cease-fire with prospective effect from 22nd November and announced withdrawal of troops beginning from 1st, December. China refused to restore the status-quo as obtained before the Chinese aggression beginning from September 1962.

This raises the question mark on the resonance of such resolutions which prompted the eminent jurist late A.G. Noorani in an opinion piece that such resolutions “… have neither the legal force nor moral worth. They reflect the national mood at a given moment. They cannot bind any government which wishes to follow a different course…” ^[1] India’s first ambassador to China and country’s first foreign secretary K.P.S Menon in his memoires observed, “… the entire attitude adopted by Parliament during the crisis was unhelpful. Brave talks that not an inch of Indian Territory should be surrendered and so on left the government with no room for manoeuvring. This is what happens when the Legislature tries to usurp the functioning of the Executive.” ^[2]

In the given situation our political class should contend with discussing India-China issues both in the Consultative Committees of Parliament and the Standing Committees during the briefing by Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary or Chief of Defence Staff. In the 16th Lok Sabha, the then Speaker Ms. Sumitra Mahajan had constituted the Speaker’ Research Forum (SRI) which provided an interface between the members, the academia and the diplomats, which was very useful platform for free and frank discussion. This platform can be revived.

Endnotes

^[1] A.G. Noorani, “Parliamrnt resolutions on foreign policy best consigned to the archives just for the record,” The Hindustan Times, 21st ,October, 2003
^[2] K.P.S. Menon, Twilight in China, reproduced in, Ira Pande (Edited), India China: Neighbors Strangers, Harper Collins, 2010,

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