Tap talent in both Houses

The large number of Rajya Sabha MPs in the Union cabinet is not a cause for alarm. Their presence among ministers is not bad in principle.
In fact, the House of Elders should be the talent pool for the prime minister to pick his cabinet. In no way are RS members less accountable to the people than LS members.
A cabinet works on the principle of collective responsibility.It is immaterial if a minister belongs to the Upper or the Lower House. He has to withstand the scrutiny of Parliament. It is the job of Parliament to ensure that accountability to people is not compromised.
Accountability in a parliamentary democracy should be understood in an institutional sense. The role of individual MPs is to strengthen institutional mechanisms. There is no evidence to suggest that MPs in Lok Sabha will work for it more than those in the Upper House.
The assumption that a minister who has to face the electorate will be more concerned about the interests of the people as against the indirectly elected MP is misplaced. A vote from the electorate is not a certificate of virtue.
Our elections are rarely a vote on the individual contestant's commit-ment to the public but a reflection of the mobilisational strength of his political platform.
The quality of people elected to the House of Elders can be a cause for alarm. To pack Rajya Sabha with people who have lost elections and represent corporate interests is to subvert the institution.
But this should not be seen in isolation. It is merely a reflection of the changes taking place in the polity. The dynamics of electoral politics with undue emphasis on money power and muscle, also facilitates corruption of institutions. Lok Sabha has been far more affected by these changes.
The current composition of the cabinet ��� 32 per cent of ministers from Rajya Sabha ��� only reflects the proportional strength of the two Houses.