New Delhi 28 December 2004
Drifting Towards
Disaster
IS PARLIAMENT
BECOMING IRRELEVANT?
By Poonam I Kaushish
We have been through all this before. Of how India’s
Parliament is increasingly being devalued. Virtually becoming into a tamasha. That the very protectors of
this high temple
of Parliamentary
democracy have become its denigrators and destroyers. And how in their
“collective wisdom” our Right Honourables, have been spewing sheer contempt on
Parliament, wittingly or unwittingly. Reducing the grand red stone building
into an akhara, where politically
motivated bashing is the order of the day and agenda a luxury to be taken up
when the lung power is exhausted.
If proof was needed, the shortest ever17-day winter session
was testimony to this fast decline. Instead of reasoned debate on issues
concerning the aam aadmi, our Right
Honourables concentrated on raising “hot” items. For the Opposition charge of
gross misuse of the CBI by the PMO concerning Advani in the Ayodhya case and of
Railway Minister Laloo Yadav’s “contempt” of Parliament in not making a
statement in the House on a major rail accident in Punjab and instead flying
off to Patna, the Congress-led UPA Government created “tehelka” with media reports of a Gujarat BJP MLA bribing Zahira,
key witness in the Best Bakery case, with Rs 18 lakhs to change her stand. Not
to mention the absurd sight of two senior Cabinet Ministers trading mutual
charges of corruption et al.
Clearly, this has been a lose-lose session. The Government
lost out as it was unable to transact scheduled business. The Opposition
adopted a posture of hostility and disruption, making reasoned debate
impossible. With the result that Parliament loses its credibility and prestige
when crores of public money goes down the drain. That we are slowly but surely
heading towards disaster is obvious. Notwithstanding the valiant efforts of
Rajya Sabha Chairman Shekhawat and Lok Sabha Speaker Chatterjee to arrest the
decline. Raising a moot point: Is Parliament becoming irrelevant?
The amount of legislative business transacted during the
session illustrates how “powerless” Parliament has become in stemming the
mounting rot. Of the 43 important Bills scheduled to be debated and voted, only
half were passed. Of the 19 new Bills introduced in the Lok Sabha, 11 were
voted. Justified the Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad: “The last Budget session lasted three months
but transacted only 10 per cent of the business. Whereas in the 17-day session
it was 100 per cent business.” Really?
His next sentence exposed its hollowness. “All laws which
the Government thought were important were passed…. Where is the need for a
longer session?” Aren’t all laws important? If not, then why the laws? And why
list them in the list of business. Are they just gap fillers, to inflate the
quantum of business to score brownie points? Sadly, making a mockery of
Parliament’s primary responsibility of enacting legislation.
A case in point: the scandalous treatment of the important
National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions Bill. This highly
sensitive Bill was hurriedly introduced, debated and passed virtually with
empty benches in both the Houses. Over 74 reservations were voiced by the MPs
in the Rajya Sabha, cutting across Party lines on certain crucial Clauses of
the Bill. Even by members who generally support Government legislations. The
BJP wanted it referred to the Select Committee to fine tune the Bill and report
back on the first day of the next session. Alas, to no avail.
Nominated Rajya Sabha member Fali S. Nariman raised some
vital issues of far-reaching consequence as a leading legal luminary since he
did not wish “the Bill to be declared unconstitutional.” Article 30 of the
Constitution, he told the Human Resources Minister, Arjun Singh, undoubtedly
gave the minorities the right to administer and maintain educational
institutions of their choice, but it did not empower the Government “to define
who are the minorities?” What is more, the Supreme Court was still grappling with
an appropriate definition of minority. Two views had been expressed before the Apex Court. One
that religious minorities were, perhaps the national minorities whereas
linguistic minorities were State-based minorities.
More. He warned the House against “a good legislation
sometimes going awry.” Therefore, the clause defining minority “should be
deleted or it should be prescribed by rules that ‘all minorities’ is meant by
the word ‘minority’, wherever they are. Otherwise, there is going to be a lot
of problems between minorities, between linguistic minorities and religious
minorities.” However, all he pleaded powerfully was like water off a duck’s
back.
Another crucial legislation, the Patent Bill failed to get
Parliament’s approval, despite its serious economic ramifications for the
country vis-à-vis the World Trade Organization. It needed to be passed before
the next budget session. Yet the Government dilly-dallied, presumably because
it preferred the convenient Ordinance route which enables it to present
Parliament with a fait accompli. Two Appropriation Bills, the Supplementary
Demands for Grants General and Railways were passed in the Lok Sabha with only
about 60 MPs present.
Issues of vital national interest, like India’s foreign
policy and internal security fared even worse, notwithstanding the fact that
these were being discussed by Parliament after a long time. Only a smattering
of MPs were present in both Houses when these were debated. Repeated ringing of
the quorum bell failed to get them to give up their gupshup in the Central Hall. Unlike in the past, even the presence
of the Prime Minister failed to ensure a sizable attendance. On Monday last,
when Manmohan Singh eventually made his much-needed statement on his visits
abroad and his meetings with top foreign leaders during the intersession period
in the Lok Sabha barely 75 MPs were present.
With the numbers game becoming the sole criteria of a
successful session, members are increasingly showing less and less interest in
their main job of law making. This has come down to barely 16 per cent. Maximum
time is spent on other matters or unlisted issues, 50 per cent. During this
session, a lot of time was wasted on insignificant issues during the Zero Hour.
In the Eleventh Lok Sabha, 5.28 per cent of time was lost in disruptions. This
climbed to 10.66 in the next House and has soared to 22.40 per cent in the
Thirteenth Lok Sabha.
Tragically, our legislators seem to suffer no sense of guilt
or qualms of conscience. The time has come to hold them accountable. They have
been elected to delve on issues vital to the people. They are paid hefty
salaries, perks and innumerable freebies. They should be held accountable for
their actions in Parliament and should face recall if they fail to deliver, as
advocated by Loknayak JP. The onus lies on all sides of the House. It is the
job of the Opposition to keep the Government on its toes. But it is the
responsibility of the Treasury Benches to ensure the smooth running of both the
Houses and conduct of Government business. Remember Parliamentary democracy can
succeed only when the rules of the game are followed honestly. Else it will
become redundant and irrelevant. ----- INFA
(Copyright India News and Feature Alliance)
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