—– Forwarded Message —–
From: K. C. Garg <kcg831@yahoo.com>
To: kcg831@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, September 4, 2008 11:01 AM
Subject: U. S. System of Government
India should adopt U.S. system of Government
(Yes, but we need some tailoring because we are Vedics. We need to make Bhaarat Vedic desh, not a secular one. This is because the Vedic dharma is universal for mankind, and is tolerant of all the tolerant faiths. – Skanda987)
India and the U.S.A. are the two biggest democracies in the world. While the U.S.A. is the most prosperous and advanced country, India is one of the poorest countries and is backward in almost all fields. The differing social, economic and political systems of the two countries are responsible for this situation. Here I would like to explain the main features of American system of government only.
American system of Government is free from all the ills and evils of Indian system. It gives a clean, much less expensive, strong and corruption-free government. It is based on reasoning. It is result oriented. It makes the rulers accountable to the public. The laws are framed in the interest of the country and the country progresses fast.
American System of Government –
Separation of Power – In the U.S.A. two branches of government – the legislative and the executive – are separate and independent of each other. Each works without being dependent on the goodwill of the other. The Parliament is called Congress. The Congress has two houses – the Senate and the house of Representatives. All members of both the houses are directly elected by the public. There is no nomination system. For all practical purposes, the President is also directly elected by the public. Thus, there is full and direct representation of the public in the government. The job of making policies and laws belongs to the Congress. The President’s job is to enforce the laws.
Policy–Making – In the U.S.A. all members of both the houses of Congress are directly involved in policy–making. They express themselves freely and vote independently. They are not bound by their party to vote in a particular manner. They act according to their own conviction or according to the wishes of their constituents. The government does not fall whether a particular bill passes or does not pass. Therefore, the country has good, useful and practical laws.
Administration – In the U.S.A. the President alone is responsible for executing the laws. He does it with the help of government employees – the Secretaries. No party man, politician or congressman is involved, directly or indirectly. For that reason there is no corruption in the administration.
Secretaries – There are no ministers or Prime Minster in the U.S.A. The President appoints Secretaries from amongst the general public according to departmental requirements after approval by the Senate. The number of the Secretaries (about 15) is fixed under the Constitution. The Secretaries are responsible to the President. The compensation given to the Secretaries cannot be changed during their term of office.
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Vice–President – The vice-President is a person of the choice of the President, picked by him before election, to run as his running mate. No separate votes are cast for the vice-President. The President and the vice-President are elected as a team. A voter casts only one vote for both of them.
Impeachment – The President and the vice–President can be impeached and removed from office for Treason, Bribery or other high crimes and Misdemeanors by two third majority votes of the senate. After removal from the office they can be tried in an ordinary court of law for any crimes they might have committed.
Judiciary – In the U.S.A. the Judiciary is completely independent. Supreme Court judges are appointed for life. Whenever there is a vacancy the President appoints someone to fill it subject to the approval of the Senate.
There is no backlog of cases in any court in the U.S.A. All big crimes are tried by an independent jury of 12 citizens randomly selected from the public and decided unanimously.
Terms of Office – In the U.S.A. the President is elected for four years. A person cannot be elected President for more than two terms. The house of Representatives is elected for two years. The Senators are elected for six years. One third of the Senators are replaced every two years.
In the U.S.A. dates of elections and taking offices are fixed under the Constitution ruling out all possibilities of political maneuvering.
By–elections – No by-elections are held anywhere in the U.S.A.
In case of vacancy of the office of the President, the vice-President becomes President for the remaining period of four year term. If the vice-President’s office is vacated, the President appoints someone to that office for the remaining period of the term after approval from both the houses of Congress.
A vacancy in the Congress is filled by nomination by the same political party and from the same constituency as the person who caused the vacancy belonged to, for the period until next elections.
Salaries – Salaries of the President, vice-President, members of Congress and Secretaries cannot be changed during their term of office. If any such change is passed by the Congress then that applies only to those who occupy these offices in the next term.
Secretaries and Congressmen are not given houses, cars, servants, drivers etc. for their personal use by the government.
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State and City Governments – In the U.S.A. the state and city governments have similar structures. Governors for states and Mayors for cities are directly elected by the public.
Advantages of U.S. system over Indian system of Government –
1. In the U.S.A. there is no scope for struggle for power after elections. There is no horse trading. Elections decide the functions and the remunerations of all concerned. Therefore, the Congress and the President devote full time and energy to do their job efficiently and in the interest of the country.
2. In the U.S.A. the government remains stable. Passing or not passing of a bill (resolution) in the Congress does not affect the continuation of the government. The Congress does not get dissolved until it completes its term.
3. The members of the Congress have no right to interfere in the administration. Therefore the administration is free from favoritism, bribery and corruption.
4. The Congressmen have no scope of amassing wealth for themselves. Therefore no one fights elections for the main purpose of making money. Only good quality people are elected and not much money is spent on elections.
5. The U.S. system gives good, practical and stable laws to its people as the law makers – the Congressmen – are free to follow their own convictions and the wishes of their constituents while making laws.
6. As there are no by–elections in the U.S.A., the country is saved from lot of hassle, waste of time, money and energy.
7. There are no ceremonial offices in the U.S.A. Thus, they are setting a good example for the people and are avoiding wastage of money and man power.
The American Constitution came into effect in 1787. Only 27 amendments have been made in it so far. Total size of the American Constitution including all amendments is that of a booklet of 24 pages. Credit goes to the U.S. Constitution and to those who made it for the prosperity, strength, advancement and good administration of the country.
I am of the firm opinion that if India is to make progress it must adopt the U.S. system of government.
Krishan C. Garg
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ॐ Hinduu Nation ॐ 