Articles by T R Andhyarujina

All in all, full marks are due to the president who acted competently, fairly and with great dignity in a difficult situation. Equal credit must be given to prime minister Vajpayee whose conduct has been exemplary.

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Constitutional Conventions and Formation of the New Government

Vol. 25, Issue No. 2, 13 Jan, 1990

T R Andhyarujina

of the need for systematic political campaigns to support a change in priorities; much less of the fact that the economic programme to which it is committed could require, in order to be carried out, the creation of a political base somewhat different from that which it actually has. There was a short phase in the political NOW that the dust and din of the general election and the formation of the new central government has settled down,.it is appropriate to take stock of the constitutional conventions observed by the outgoing prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and the president R Venkataraman in the formation of the new government.

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Janata Party and the Constitutional Amendments

Vol. 12, Issue No. 45-46, 05 Nov, 1977

T R Andhyarujina

November 5-12, 1977 Janata Party and the Constitutional Amendments T R Andhyarujina THE executive of the Janata parliamentary party has now made public its proposals for the "comprehensive bill" to amend the Constitution. It is now clear that the Janata party does not want to scrap the amendments as a whole as the evil work of a gagged Parliament during the Emergency, The party's proposals suggest that the 42nd Amendment and the 38th Amendment are like the curate's egg, good and bad in parts, and the amendments should be selectively considered on their merits. The approach is pragmatic. The authoritarian or undemocratic characteristics of the amendments are to be weeded out while those which are considered desirable or unexceptionable are to be retained. This approach seems not only the result of a deeper study by more informed minds than those who drafted the election manifesto but appears also to be dictated by the necessity of carrying the Congress party with the proposals as the latter's support in the Rajya Sabha is vital if the proposals are to be carried through Parliament. Whatever be the reasons, no one can seriously quarrel with this approach so long as the proposals meet with the proclaimed declarations of the party to rid the Constitution of the anti-democratic features introduced by the amendments.

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How to Live with the Constitution Amendments

Vol. 12, Issue No. 17, 23 Apr, 1977

T R Andhyarujina

How to Live with the Constitution Amendments T R Andhyarujina THE Congress party's opposition to the 43rd Amendment Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on April 7, 1977, shows that the Janata Party's pledge to repeal the constitutional amendments carried through by the previous government in the 18 months of the Emergency, can not be implemented easily. Though the new government would have the requisite two- thirds majority for the repeal in the Lok Sabha, the Congress commands a near two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha and at present also controls more than half the number of state legislatures whose ratification is required for certain kinds of constitutional amendments. Unless dramatic political changes take place in the Rajya Sabha and in the state legislatures, therefore, the chances of the government securing the repeal of the earlier amendments seem dim. What then is to be done with the Amendments until these changes take place?

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Press Strong Medicine

Vol. 11, Issue No. 36, 04 Sep, 1976

T R Andhyarujina

Press: Strong Medicine T R Andhyarujina The Law of Press Censorship in India by Soli J Sorabjee N M Tripathy
"THERE was no pre-censorship of the Press on any of the previous three occasions when the country was engaged in actual war with its hostile neighbours. Not unnaturally, the events of June 26, 1975, and in particular the pre-censorship imposed on the Press were a shattering experience, somewhat like the after-effects of a strong dose of medicine." The author of this hook obviously recovered from the aftereffects of the strong medicine not only to cross swords in two legal bat'les the Censor in the Bombay High Cert but also later to write this eminently useful and informative book on the Law of Press Censorship in India.

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CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT CASE-What It Decided

Vol. 8, Issue No. 25, 23 Jun, 1973

T R Andhyarujina

this year, it is entirely possible, might even fall short of 5 million tonnes, 'and could be as much as one million tonnes less than what was procured last year. Given this context, those states which 'are unable to fulfil even 50 per cent of the target laid down for them deserve, one would have thought, not to be rewarded, but penalised. It is an indicator of the degree of perversity which has overtaken economic administration in the country that those who ought to be hauled over the coals for their dismal performance are instead being kissed on both cheeks. Second, one can, quite legitimately, enquire of the purpose for which this bonus is being offered to the state governments. Since evidently it could not be passed back to these farmers who have already sold their grains to Government agencies, the assumption is that the proceeds of the bonus would be used for providing indirect subsidies. Given the umpteen examples set by the various state governments in recent times, would it be unfair to conclude that these proceeds too would go to swell certain slush funds which are blatantly political in nature?