The beauty of democracy

F R Chowdhury from London | Published: January 23, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

This scribe has been living in the United Kingdom (UK) since 1991. But keeping in touch with every development in Bangladesh is not difficult.
The UK is a constitutional monarchy which means that the unwritten constitution of the country has defined what the monarch can or cannot do. The country has a parliamentary democracy where the majority party government, appointed by the monarch, runs the state on her/his behalf. The monarch remains the head of the state and everything operates in the name of her/his majesty.
The monarch opens the parliament in a very ceremonial wayÂ and addresses the house (and through the house, the nation as a whole). She/he uses the term "my Government" because she/he appoints the government to run the state on her/his behalf. This is the reason why the cabinet members (full ministers in charge of respective departments) are referred to as "secretary of state". Traditionally the monarch acts according to the advice of the prime minister. Her/her speeches always reflect the policy, planning and work of the Government. However, we never heard of the British cabinet approving queen's speech. British society is educated and cultured. They would never accept such humiliation of their monarch.
While watching news one day in one of the Bengali TV channels this scribe heard the news that the cabinet had approved the president's speech. That was shocking. We all know that the state is higher than government and the head of the state (president) is certainly higher than the head of the government (prime minister). The act of announcing publicly that the cabinet has approved president's speech is by all standards beyond decency and courtesy.
We urge the politicians to learn more about democracy and governance. The president is the number one citizen of the country. Let us uphold the dignity of the institution of presidency. Though the speech of the president will reflect, as in the UK, the policy, plans and work of the government, as advised by the prime minister, still it should not be made public. Let the president deliver his speech as the President of the Republic. That is where the beauty of democracy lies.
fazlu.chowdhury@btinternet.com