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Need quality, decency of debates in Indian Parliament

The Supreme Court in its recent judgement said that a nation aspiring to be a world leader should debate on the welfare of its citizens rather than make Parliament a stage to exchange jeers and launch personal attacks on one another.
  • Suspension of MLAs: The order dealt with the year-long suspension of 12 BJP MLAs from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for disorderly conduct.
  • Statesmanship and not brinkmanship: According to the Supreme Court, elected members should at least know that they are expected to show statesmanship and not brinkmanship in the house with the completion of 75 years of Independence and ambitions of becoming a world leader.
  • Quality debates: The quality of debates in the house ought to be of the highest order for becoming world leaders and self dependent.
  • Significance for common man: Legislature is the first place where justice is dispensed to the common man through a democratic process.
  • Parliament or state legislature, not a place to create ruckus but for governance: it is a place where laws and policies are propounded for governing people, the entire range of activities concerning masses until the last mile are discussed and the destinies of citizens are shaped.
There is a lack of quality debates
  • Lack of democratic functioning: The lack of quality debate and discussions in Parliament is the real indicator of democratic functioning of the legislative organ created by the Constitution.
    • The repeal of the farm laws of 2020 is an illustrative example and the reason why, despite good intentions behind the laws, the law-makers were forced to repeal them.
  • Lack of debates is a concern for all: concerned citizens and sections of opposition are worried about the evident haste with which laws are pushed, presiding officers fret over the low productivity due to time lost amidst the unruly protests and even the government representatives might worry that their legislative agenda is not being carried out in time.
  • Increased litigation in courts: it leads to a lot of litigation & the courts, in the absence of quality debate, are unable to fathom the intent and object behind the new law.
    • More than the quality of debate, it is the scope for detailed discussion that imparts clarity and a much-needed proximity to the original intent and purpose to any statute.
    • The cases like the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the issue of Electoral Bonds, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Sedition law (Section 124A of IPC). These cases have been pending for two-three years.
  • Goal should not be disruption: members from both ruling party as well as opposition should aim to perform as good parliamentarians, disruptions cannot be the goal. Elected members should discuss the problems of citizens as their chosen representatives.
RULES OF THE HOUSE
  • Rules regarding disruptions: Since 1952, the rules required MPs not to interrupt speeches of others, maintain silence, and not obstruct proceedings during debates. Newer forms of protest led to the updating of these rules in 1989. Now members should not shout slogans, display placards, tear away documents in protest, play cassettes, or tape recorders in the House. In practice, they disobey all these rules.
FACTS
  • Number of sittings: The first, second and third Lok Sabha 1952-1967 sat for an average of 120 days annually, presently the average of both the houses has come down to 67 days.
    • The national commission to review the working of the Constitution recommended that Lok Sabha should have at least 120 settings in an year and 100 settings for Rajya Sabha.
  • Time taken for passage of bills: According to PRS data, Lok Sabha took only 34 minutes on average to pass a Bill, while Rajya Sabha did it in 46 minutes.
  • Time of functioning of houses: In monsoon session of 2021, Lok Sabha functioned for just 21 hours and 14 minutes out of the total stipulated 96 hours (22%), Rajya Sabha worked for only 28 of the total 97.5 hours (28%)
Disruption is replacing discussion as the foundation of our legislative functioning.
  • A PRS (PRS Legislative Research) report says during the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-14), frequent disruptions of Parliamentary proceedings have resulted in the Lok Sabha working for 61% and Rajya Sabha for 66% of its scheduled time.
  • Another PRS report said, the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-19) lost 16% of its scheduled time to disruptions, better than the 15th Lok Sabha (37%), but worse than the 14th Lok Sabha (13%).
  • The Rajya Sabha lost 36% of its scheduled time. In the 15th and 14th Lok Sabhas, it had lost 32% and 14% of its scheduled time respectively.
Reasons for Disruption
  1. Discussion on Matters of Controversy and Public Importance.
  2. Disruptions May Help Ruling Party Evade Responsibility.
  3. Lack of Dedicated Time for Unlisted Discussion.
  4. Scarce Resort to Disciplinary Powers.
  5. Party Politics.
Road ahead
  • Set aside a day for quality debates: it has been suggested that a day or two should be kept aside in every session for discussions which are devoid of day to day partisan politics.
  • One nation one legislative platform: the Prime Minister has suggested ‘one nation one legislative platform’, where Parliament and State Assemblies can share documents, debate clips and data through digitisation.
Aggression during the debates has no place in the setting of a country governed by the Rule of Law. Even a complex issue needs to be resolved in a congenial atmosphere by observing collegiality and showing full respect and deference towards each other. Dialogue is the only way to resolve issues.


POSTED ON 29-01-2022 BY ADMIN
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