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lobbying, in its most sacrosanct form, helps in sensitising government about the genuine grievances of interest groups.these may include business organisation,civil society groups,media etc. it can be compatible with democracy when 1)it confirm to the legal and procedural requirement of given country and 2)different interest groups have more or less even power distribution. but these conditions does not exist in real world.in countries like US where lobbying is legally sanctioned and procedural formalities are usually complied with and there is presence of vibrant and matured civil society organisations.there also exist difference in power distribution of interest groups say for example in between wall street financial giants and organisations behind occupy wall street movement .so powerful business groups are in position of undue advantage in affecting policy decisions such as lower taxes for higher income group. in india although it is illegal but is found in covert form such as donation to political parties,NGO affiliated with politicians etc and in not so covert form such as in defence deals.it act as a major source of corruption.in addition to that there is sea wide difference in power position that results in crony capitalism or a government of the riches,by the riches and for the riches. so lobbying is not only incompatible with democracy but also, in a country with so much inequality as in india,it is almost akin to plutocracy.
What I have understood that lobbying strengthens democracy. In democracy, majority rules but in lobbying argument rules. Lobbying is done by a interest group to have a policy decision favorable to them. Now, while lobbying they will have to justify why that particular policy for which they are vouching is the best policy and how it will lead to serve common good and how it is in consonance with national aims enshrined in the constitution.
Funding political parties is not lobbying, it clearly is corruption. If one criticize lobbying on this ground, it would be similar to criticize hosting commonwealth games. Hosting them was not bad, but corruption involved in hosting them was bad.
PS: My views are under construction regarding lobbying, so any comment on this post is welcome.
I disagree with your "how it will lead to serve common good and how it is in consonance with national aims enshrined in the constitution".
Lobbying certainly does not lead to a "common good", and if it does, it is sheer coincidence.
But lobbying is not antithetical to democracy. It is just one the means by which a section of the electorate can articulate their voice. You can even say it is akin to the other methods of "voice" like strike, interest groups etc.
Government does not always take a decision which is in the best interest of the majority of the populace. What the pluralistic model of state says is that the govt. does take decisions, one benefiting some, others benefiting others, but overall it tries to keep everyone happy. As Raymond Aaron said " Govt. becomes a business of compromise."
Anyway, coming back to lobbing, it is a problem due to it being a major source of political funding. Now, there are two solutions for this scenario, according to me.
One, we introduce the long standing electoral reforms which remove this political funding. But this is no easy task, and has not been done anywhere in the world in the truest sense of the word.
The other, we decrease the power held by each member of parliament, or the congress/senate in case of the US, such that lobbying itself becomes more difficult. This can only be done by increasing the size of the parliament thus dispersing power, which should be done in my opinion, as the exponential increase in the population of India is not reflected even to the slightest in the composition of the Parliament. The US congress has been the same in size since its formation.
"Congress shall make no law … abridging … the right of the people peaceably … to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
ye to India mein bhi hai. (rt to form associations, unions; assemble peaceably etc)
The problem I think is that Indian media associates lobbying with political funding which is not transparent. So, electoral reforms are required but that is altogether a different thing. Do you agree @Gambittt? I want to say that lobbying does not have to include money power. Again we cannot ban elections on the basis that money power is being used to win elections. Lobbying similarly should be legalised but it should also be controlled so that money and muscle power do not overwhelm national interest. Elections make democracy stronger, similarly Lobbying makes democracy stronger?
btw thanx for the second suggestion to increase the strength of the parliament. In addition to make it effective, I think we should abolish anti-defection law. Doesn't matter how big parliament becomes, if anti-defection law remains then all decisions are taken by party high command and hence lobbyists can target influencing one or few person.
With talks between the government and coal-rich states ending in a deadlock over the issue of pooling prices of domestic and imported coal, the coal ministry has decided to approach the Union Cabinet to resolve the matter. A senior government official said talks on November 22 ended in a deadlock as the states argued that besides jacking up power prices it would also burden their exchequers. West Bengal, in particular, has been a harsh critic of the proposed pooling mechanism. Orissa and Jharkhand have also opposed the move. The opposition by these states come amid reservations expressed by Coal India Limited’s independent directors, who have argued that it would bleed CIL’s exchequer dry by Rs 60,000 crore in the next 20 years. The Prime Minister’s Office, which has asked the coal ministry to approach the Union Cabinet on November 30 has also asked the power ministry to furnish inputs for a Cabinet note to help expedite its formulation. The PMO has instructed that the note should highlight in detail the pros and cons of adopting the price pooling method. Besides, the states, ministries like Railways have also opposed the proposal. Coal-rich states primary contend that while such a mechanism would be ideal for power plants located in coastal areas, those located in the hinterlands or near the pitheads may not benefit from it. They have told the CEA and the coal ministry that if implemented, the decision could jack up the average domestic coal prices by Rs 100 a tonne while a power consumer may have to shell out 10-12 paise more a unit, triggering a cascading effect on the prices of most goods. These state governments are of the view that the move may also trigger a political backlash in their home turfs once tariffs are raised to mitigate the pooling costs. CIL is also understood to be upset with CEA’s role in the entire exercise as any agreement for coal supply is executed between the buyer and the seller. Moreover, the existing supply contracts reportedly have no mention of any pooling system.
Q1) what actually is pooling?
Q2) how will it bleed exchequers of cil & state govts?
Q3) why will it be ideal for coastal powerplants?
i have a feeling that q2&3 will answer themselves if i know the answer to q1 -_-
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Comments
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/is-lobbying-an-acceptable-business-practice-yes/article4200270.ece
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/is-lobbying-an-acceptable-business-practice-no/article4200271.ece
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/lobbying-needs-strong-regulation/article4206711.ece
it can be compatible with democracy when
1)it confirm to the legal and procedural requirement of given country and
2)different interest groups have more or less even power distribution.
but these conditions does not exist in real world.in countries like US where lobbying is legally sanctioned and procedural formalities are usually complied with and there is presence of vibrant and matured civil society organisations.there also exist difference in power distribution of interest groups say for example in between wall street financial giants and organisations behind occupy wall street movement .so powerful business groups are in position of undue advantage in affecting policy decisions such as lower taxes for higher income group.
in india although it is illegal but is found in covert form such as donation to political parties,NGO affiliated with politicians etc and in not so covert form such as in defence deals.it act as a major source of corruption.in addition to that there is sea wide difference in power position that results in crony capitalism or a government of the riches,by the riches and for the riches.
so lobbying is not only incompatible with democracy but also, in a country with so much inequality as in india,it is almost akin to plutocracy.
Funding political parties is not lobbying, it clearly is corruption. If one criticize lobbying on this ground, it would be similar to criticize hosting commonwealth games. Hosting them was not bad, but corruption involved in hosting them was bad.
PS: My views are under construction regarding lobbying, so any comment on this post is welcome.
I disagree with your "how it will lead to serve common good and how it is in consonance with national aims enshrined in the constitution".
Lobbying certainly does not lead to a "common good", and if it does, it is sheer coincidence.
But lobbying is not antithetical to democracy. It is just one the means by which a section of the electorate can articulate their voice. You can even say it is akin to the other methods of "voice" like strike, interest groups etc.
Government does not always take a decision which is in the best interest of the majority of the populace. What the pluralistic model of state says is that the govt. does take decisions, one benefiting some, others benefiting others, but overall it tries to keep everyone happy. As Raymond Aaron said " Govt. becomes a business of compromise."
Anyway, coming back to lobbing, it is a problem due to it being a major source of political funding. Now, there are two solutions for this scenario, according to me.
One, we introduce the long standing electoral reforms which remove this political funding. But this is no easy task, and has not been done anywhere in the world in the truest sense of the word.
The other, we decrease the power held by each member of parliament, or the congress/senate in case of the US, such that lobbying itself becomes more difficult. This can only be done by increasing the size of the parliament thus dispersing power, which should be done in my opinion, as the exponential increase in the population of India is not reflected even to the slightest in the composition of the Parliament. The US congress has been the same in size since its formation.
"Congress shall make no law … abridging … the right of the people peaceably … to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
ye to India mein bhi hai. (rt to form associations, unions; assemble peaceably etc)
The problem I think is that Indian media associates lobbying with political funding which is not transparent. So, electoral reforms are required but that is altogether a different thing. Do you agree @Gambittt? I want to say that lobbying does not have to include money power. Again we cannot ban elections on the basis that money power is being used to win elections. Lobbying similarly should be legalised but it should also be controlled so that money and muscle power do not overwhelm national interest. Elections make democracy stronger, similarly Lobbying makes democracy stronger?
btw thanx for the second suggestion to increase the strength of the parliament. In addition to make it effective, I think we should abolish anti-defection law. Doesn't matter how big parliament becomes, if anti-defection law remains then all decisions are taken by party high command and hence lobbyists can target influencing one or few person.
coal-rich states ending in a deadlock
over the issue of pooling prices of
domestic and imported coal, the coal
ministry has decided to approach the
Union Cabinet to resolve the matter. A senior government official said talks
on November 22 ended in a deadlock as
the states argued that besides jacking
up power prices it would also burden
their exchequers. West Bengal, in particular, has been a
harsh critic of the proposed pooling
mechanism. Orissa and Jharkhand have
also opposed the move. The opposition by these states come
amid reservations expressed by Coal
India Limited’s independent directors,
who have argued that it would bleed
CIL’s exchequer dry by Rs 60,000 crore
in the next 20 years. The Prime Minister’s Office, which has
asked the coal ministry to approach the
Union Cabinet on November 30 has also
asked the power ministry to furnish
inputs for a Cabinet note to help
expedite its formulation. The PMO has instructed that the note should highlight
in detail the pros and cons of adopting
the price pooling method. Besides, the states, ministries like
Railways have also opposed the
proposal. Coal-rich states primary
contend that while such a mechanism
would be ideal for power plants located
in coastal areas, those located in the hinterlands or near the pitheads may not
benefit from it. They have told the CEA and the coal
ministry that if implemented, the
decision could jack up the average
domestic coal prices by Rs 100 a tonne
while a power consumer may have to
shell out 10-12 paise more a unit, triggering a cascading effect on the
prices of most goods. These state governments are of the view
that the move may also trigger a political
backlash in their home turfs once tariffs
are raised to mitigate the pooling costs. CIL is also understood to be upset with
CEA’s role in the entire exercise as any
agreement for coal supply is executed
between the buyer and the seller.
Moreover, the existing supply contracts
reportedly have no mention of any pooling system.
Q1) what actually is pooling?
Q2) how will it bleed exchequers of cil & state govts?
Q3) why will it be ideal for coastal powerplants?
i have a feeling that q2&3 will answer themselves if i know the answer to q1 -_-
whenever you copy paste, please post the link too....that helps in prompt answers