5 ms·

Having a majority in parliament is the normal way of doing things

by woweoe 4y ago

rajup 4y ago
Unless you support the minority party in which case democracy is definitely not working and/or the voters for the majority party are deluded ;)
ngcc_hk 4y ago
Majority rule and minority rights are democracy. Otherwise once vote in everyone is save … might as well no democracy.
- didibus 4y ago
  Thank you. The minority rights and individual rights are cornerstone, democracy does not mean majority act as Emperors. There has to be strong guaranteed equal rights to all individual and minorities that allows them equal opportunity and recourse. Its foundation is that all agree what we should all have as rights were we to ever find ourselves the minority, and those become the principles we cannot break and we owe to each individual to uphold. Beyond that, majority can decide, hopefully not stupidly and still considering minority's input, as any good leader should do, consider all data points relevant to best decision making.
simiones 4y ago
To be fair, in many parliamentary systems it is very unusual for any one party to have an absolute majority. In most such systems, the winning party of an election often only wins a plurality of votes, and has to woo other parties to govern - either through a coalition or just a minority government.
- woweoe 4y ago
  India does not have a single party majority either but an alliance majority
  - valarauko 4y ago
    The BJP by itself has a simple majority in the Lok Sabha, and makes up over 87% of the NDA's members in the Lok Sabha.
    - portpecos 4y ago
      In 2009, Congress Party made up 78% of the UPA's members in the Lok Sabha.
      - valarauko 4y ago
        Sure, though the UPA was still short of even a simple majority in the Lok Sabha, and was held up by outside support from the Left Front. The BJP's simple majority in the Lok Sabha from 2013 onwards is the first time any single party has held a majority since the 80s.
blueblisters 4y ago
A majority in a parliamentary system still allows some room for debate and dissent since MPs are, in principle, representatives of their constituency and not of the party. However, in India, it is illegal for an MP to vote against the party line - that is grounds for their disqualification - due to the anti-defection law. Any debate is pure theatrics at this point and the party leadership is free to pass any law they want.
- happyopossum 4y ago
  > in India, it is illegal for an MP to vote against the party line Inn what way is this a functioning parliamentary system then?
  - portpecos 4y ago
    > In what way is this a functioning parliamentary system then? You can ask other parliamentary systems the same questions. For example, the Australian Labor Party requires its members to pledge their support for the collective ui decisions of the caucus, which prohibits them from "crossing the floor" as well. Just as importantly, the Anti-“Crossing the Floor” law was passed in 1985 by the Congress Party under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi (Son of Indira Gandhi, Husband of Sonia Gandhi, and Father of Rahul Gandhi). India’s been functioning under that system for almost 40 years, and I doubt Rahul Gandhi and Congress Party will repeal that law when they come back into party. That’s because it’s their law. They wrote it.
    - MichaelZuo 4y ago
      Do Indian MPs explicitly pledge to toe the party line?
      - valarauko 4y ago
        Explicitly? No. At no point does a member sworn in as an MP have to then swear to affirm their party affiliation. In practice, however, the Anti-Defection Law deems anybody voting against the will of the party to have vacated their membership of the party, which can then be pursued to strip them of membership of the house.

Having a majority in parliament is the normal way of doing things

by woweoe 4y ago

Having a majority in parliament is the normal way of doing things

Unless you support the minority party in which case democracy is definitely not working and/or the voters for the majority party are deluded ;)

ngcc_hk 4y ago

Majority rule and minority rights are democracy. Otherwise once vote in everyone is save … might as well no democracy.

didibus 4y ago
Thank you. The minority rights and individual rights are cornerstone, democracy does not mean majority act as Emperors. There has to be strong guaranteed equal rights to all individual and minorities that allows them equal opportunity and recourse. Its foundation is that all agree what we should all have as rights were we to ever find ourselves the minority, and those become the principles we cannot break and we owe to each individual to uphold. Beyond that, majority can decide, hopefully not stupidly and still considering minority's input, as any good leader should do, consider all data points relevant to best decision making.

simiones 4y ago

To be fair, in many parliamentary systems it is very unusual for any one party to have an absolute majority. In most such systems, the winning party of an election often only wins a plurality of votes, and has to woo other parties to govern - either through a coalition or just a minority government.

woweoe 4y ago
India does not have a single party majority either but an alliance majority
- valarauko 4y ago
  The BJP by itself has a simple majority in the Lok Sabha, and makes up over 87% of the NDA's members in the Lok Sabha.
  - portpecos 4y ago
    In 2009, Congress Party made up 78% of the UPA's members in the Lok Sabha.
    - valarauko 4y ago
      Sure, though the UPA was still short of even a simple majority in the Lok Sabha, and was held up by outside support from the Left Front. The BJP's simple majority in the Lok Sabha from 2013 onwards is the first time any single party has held a majority since the 80s.

blueblisters 4y ago

A majority in a parliamentary system still allows some room for debate and dissent since MPs are, in principle, representatives of their constituency and not of the party. However, in India, it is illegal for an MP to vote against the party line - that is grounds for their disqualification - due to the anti-defection law. Any debate is pure theatrics at this point and the party leadership is free to pass any law they want.

happyopossum 4y ago
> in India, it is illegal for an MP to vote against the party line Inn what way is this a functioning parliamentary system then?
- portpecos 4y ago
  > In what way is this a functioning parliamentary system then? You can ask other parliamentary systems the same questions. For example, the Australian Labor Party requires its members to pledge their support for the collective ui decisions of the caucus, which prohibits them from "crossing the floor" as well. Just as importantly, the Anti-“Crossing the Floor” law was passed in 1985 by the Congress Party under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi (Son of Indira Gandhi, Husband of Sonia Gandhi, and Father of Rahul Gandhi). India’s been functioning under that system for almost 40 years, and I doubt Rahul Gandhi and Congress Party will repeal that law when they come back into party. That’s because it’s their law. They wrote it.
  - MichaelZuo 4y ago
    Do Indian MPs explicitly pledge to toe the party line?
    - valarauko 4y ago
      Explicitly? No. At no point does a member sworn in as an MP have to then swear to affirm their party affiliation. In practice, however, the Anti-Defection Law deems anybody voting against the will of the party to have vacated their membership of the party, which can then be pursued to strip them of membership of the house.