Glimpses of the working of parliament

The Parliament of India, representing, as it does, all consti tutionally organised shades of public opinion at the national level, occupies a pre-eminent and pivotal position in the country's constitutional set-up. It has also, over the years, secured for itself a unique place in the esteem of the people as the forum through which they can ventilate their grievances and problems and realise their aspirations. Among the many great achievements of free India, the successful working of parliamentary democracy is, admittedly, the most notable.

Recent developments and all the thinking on the necessary constitutional reforms in our country have above everything else put two ideas into bold relief, viz. (i) that there is no one patent, static form of parliamentary democracy; it is a living, dynamic, changing, ever-evolving concept, receptive and res ponsive to the changing needs of the times and aspirations of the people concerned; and (ii) that there is no better substitute for the parliamentary system in India and the future of the nation lies in further strengthening the institution of parlia ment as the mirror and the microcosm of the people of India and as the ideal instrument for bringing about rapid economic development and the desired social transformation.