We, the people, have given ourselves a Constitution. We, the people, have constituted India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democrati...
We, the people, have given ourselves a Constitution. We, the people, have constituted India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. We, the people, have elected government after government. We, the people, have consented to be governed by a government of laws and not men. We, the people, have been left to fend for ourselves in the fight against the coronavirus.
Estates of the realm
Taken together, the three organs of government – the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary – make up the three estates of social order. The Bharatiya Janata Party has a brute majority in the Lok Sabha and there is little to nothing that the Legislature can do to hold the Executive headed by the prime minister accountable for its response, or the lack of one, to the second wave.
Under the Constitution, the prime minister’s actions are to be scrutinised by the third organ of government – the Judiciary. Meaningful judicial review of Narendra Modi’s executive actions in handling the pandemic has not been forthcoming, as Modi’s vice-like grip has ensured that the Supreme Court and High Courts of the country dare not hold him or his government accountable. The three estates are under the thumb of one man –...
