JOIN US'Union' or 'Centre'? Parliament panel prefers 'Union of India', castigates Ministry of Personnel
Is it the Union of India or the Central government? Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi and MK Stalin, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, appears to have got support for their argument from a Parliamentary panel headed by senior BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi which favours Union of India.
The remarks of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice came in its report on Demands for Grants for the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions tabled in the Parliament on Thursday.
Referring to how employees of the Centre should be identified, the multi-party panel's report said that it has in its previous reports maintained that it was "inappropriate" to use the term 'central government' to those serving the executive wing alone.
The committee had said that the term central government should be "substituted" by "Union of India and the officials of the three organs -- executive, legislature and judiciary -- be referred to as "officials of the Union of India". In its response, the Ministry "categorically" told the panel that it may be outside its purview.
Not taking the response lightly, the committee said that it was "conscious of its own mandate as well as the mandate of the Ministry" and that its recommendation was "well within the boundaries" of the Constitution and the panel's mandate.
It went on to say that it was "dissatisfied with the response given by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
"The Committee is unhappy with this disrespectful and inconsiderate response of the Ministry. At this juncture, the Committee would like to draw the attention of the Ministry to Part V of the Constitution of India, entitled, 'THE UNION', which includes the Union Executive, the Union Legislature and the Union Judiciary. It is clear that the founding fathers of our Constitution treated these three wings as constituents of the UNION," it said.
"Since the Ministry is the nodal agency for policy matters relating to personnel management as per the Allocation of Business Rules, the Committee desires the Ministry to enlighten it whether the term 'Central Government' or 'Union Government' was used at the time of framing of the Constitution," the report added.
In his speech during the Debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's speech, top Congress leader Rahul referred to India as 'Union of India', while the Tamil Nadu government has been using the term since DMK's Stalin assumed power in the state. This was objected by the BJP, which said states are just administrative units and India has a central government.
Check out DH's latest videos: