NOVEL NEXT Chapter 188 Nobility, Inheritance, Election Part :2
188 Nobility, Inheritance, Election Part :2
Dakshina Bharatiya Empire, Vijayanagara State, Hampi, Palace Grounds.
"Dhum dhum dhum."
The drums rang out as Vijay finally made his entrance through the red carpet that had been rolled out through the centre of the crowd.
As Vijay passed through the crowd, all the ministers, intellectuals, and elites rose from their seats and bowed down to Vijay as they greeted, "Long live your majesty, long live, long live." Vijay was wearing a purple dhoti with a yellow scarf covering his upper body and adorned with multiple jewels. He walked through the crowd looking majestic, while Kavya followed behind him, dressed in a purple silk saree, looking beautiful as always. Making it to the front row, Kavya sat on the dedicated seat provided for her.
Vijay made his way onto the dais, looking back at the crowd with a confident expression. Finally, he turned around and took his seat. After a little girl sang the Ganapathi Mantra for an auspicious beginning, Vijay began his speech.
"Respected ministers, scholars, and elites of the society, you have my gratitude for attending this event. Today marks a turning point in the empire's long and prosperous history. It is the day when the Empire leaves behind its old, outdated, and medieval way of life for a prosperous modern world."
The audience looked forward to what His Majesty Vijay Devaraya would unveil, but some of the ministers displayed no expression, already aware of some of the reforms His Majesty was about to implement, and the earth-shaking changes it would bring.
"From today, it starts the period of transition until the end of the month."
The people below did not understand what the period of transition meant, but they kept listening. They could feel that it was an important matter, seeing how the important ministers stiffened their bodies.
"The Empire, since its founding in the 14th century, has been an absolute monarchy throughout the 13 generations of kings before me. However, from now on, it will be a constitutional monarchy, in which I relinquish some of my powers for the betterment of the people and the empire."
"What!"
"Huhhhhhhhh"
This caused a huge uproar among the crowd. They could not understand what His Majesty meant by giving up some of his powers. Kavya was also taken aback by this move from Vijay, but she quickly settled down, as she did not care what Vijay did as long as it was his decision, And she, being his wife, was sure that it was his decision and there was no outside influence. If it were her father, he would oppose his son-in-law doing something like this. But Kavya did not care. She did not have any good feelings towards the position of the royal family because of the tragedy experienced by her own family.
"What is His Majesty talking about?"
"I don't know. Do you know?"
"Is His Majesty being controlled by someone?"
"Who can control His Majesty in this entire subcontinent? Even the Mughals would not. As for the nobles, don't even ask."
"Hey, you both, stop speculating. We are just some small-time merchants. Shut up and listen."
Vijay waved his hand, calming the uproar. Then he went on to say, "Let the Pratham Mantri (Prime Minister) Vinod explain the reform content," and returned to his seat.
Vinod came up on the stage and started his speech, "Respected ministers, nobles, elites, and scholars, first let me explain the concept of the constitution. A constitution is a set of fundamental rules that determine how a country or an Empire is run. For the betterment of the Empire, His Majesty himself decided to be tied down to a set of rules he created."
Clap, clap, clap.
Intense applause rang through the palace grounds. Though the people couldn't fully understand, they could conclude that His Majesty came up with a set of rules that he and the people should follow.
"Now let me tell you about one of the three entities of the Empire's constitution—the government. This term should be known to everyone by now as you have already dealt with me or the set of ministers. From now on, the government will be a political body that moves forward for the betterment of the people of the Empire. It will officially be an independent body from the emperor. The government, from now on, will be an equal entity with the imperial council and the Election Nobility and Exams Commission (ENEC), which will be explained shortly.
The government will be divided into two main parts: the central government and a state government. A central government is the controlling power over the unitary Empire, and a state government is a governing body with power over the unitary state, for example, Cholapuri.
According to the constitution, the citizens of the Empire who are eligible can vote for a representative among the people themselves. One representative is chosen for a single district, and these elected parliament members can choose the house of their preference after winning the election—either conservative or liberal, depending on their campaign and what their voters need. The elected person then serves as a Member of Parliament (MP), and the leader selected among them will be the Mukhya Mantri of the state (CM). The Mukhyamantri can then form a state government."
The central government is also formed through a similar election process, but the Pradhan Mantri will be elected by the Members of Parliament across the Empire. The person who wins the election becomes the Pradhan Mantri and forms the central government. The term of duty for a minister in both state and central is 5 years, after which they could potentially be re-elected.
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Vinod finally finished his introduction by completing the speech with an explanation of the consequences of being a minister, such as declaring wealth and not allowing any family members to participate in politics until the death of the parliament member, etc. Discussion broke out, with a loud noise of people mumbling among themselves.
"Doesn't that mean even I, not being a noble and just a small merchant, could be a member of parliament?"
"It does look like it, But why did His Majesty make it like this."
"Who cares? All I care about is that we common people are also eligible to participate in the election. The only bad taste in the mouth is that even those from low castes get a reservation in the parliament. What a waste."
"Yeah, that is also one thing. Hey, didn't you notice that there is no way to make a lot of money by being a politician? The Prime Minister just said that the collusion of politicians with merchants would be punished by death. Also, all donations should be declared. Does this not cut off our path? How can we make money if the merchants are not allowed to fund the election?"
Multiple discussions like this among the smart people who quickly grasped the concept broke out, but common discussion among them is that a lot of people are happy because they see a ladder that would lead them to the topmost power position in the Empire.
The only losers are the ministers who will be subject to re-election and the nobles whose power has been depleted. Unfortunately, most of the nobles are dead or completely suppressed by Vijay.
" What is this guy thinking? If he wants to give up his power, why should he involve us too?"
"....."
"..."
Discussions like these among nobles took place, although they were in a very hushed voice as they did not want to be heard.
Vinod, addressing some questions, answered them with clarity, "The salary of the ministers is not fixed, as it depends on the growth of the Empire. If the Empire grows at a good pace, you could potentially earn the money merchants earn in a decade, because each minister in power gets a salary of 0.1% of what the department contributed to the Empire's growth."
Vijay made these rules to prevent politicians from colluding with capitalists to exploit the nation and the people. That is the main reason Vijay decided on such an exorbitant amount of salary. In the context of India in his past life, the time of his accident was a 5 trillion dollar economy as the third-largest economy in the world, which was bested by USA and China. The economy grew by 7% every year, increasing the revenue by 350 billion dollars per annum. According to his new regulation of 0.1% salary, a pool of 350 million would be formed to be distributed among the ministers of the central government, hence making the ministers millionaires and multi millionaires in just a single year.
Oh yes, Vijay also put down a rule that all the money erned should only be used on industries they are not in control of, and that too, the money could only be used after resigning or completing the term of the minister.
Finally, after Vinod cleared everyone's doubts, he got down the stage with a loud applause. Seeing this scene, Vijay was satisfied, as he was confident that with his help and Vinod's own achievements, the position of Prime Minister would be confirmed.
To Be Continued...
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