By Tarunkumar G. Singhal Raman Jokhakar Chartered Accountants
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Disruptions of Parliament have become such a common occurrence that they hardly give rise to outrage any more. The last session of the 15th Lok Sabha is no exception. Both Houses have already been adjourned daily, amid slogan-shouting, scuffles and placard-waving by various members of Parliament. The worst offenders have been parliamentarians from Andhra Pradesh, protesting the government’s action – or inaction – on the formation of the new state of Telangana. But other issues have also been raised, through slogans and placards: the fate of Tamil fishermen; special status for Bihar; rapes in Kerala; the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Each of these is, of course, an important issue and deserving of debate. Equally, each is an important issue and therefore not a reason for disrupting Parliament.
The tenure of the 15th Lok Sabha, thus, has been a disappointment. According to data released by the think tank PRS Legislative Research, the average number of Bills passed by Parliament when a Lok Sabha has completed its full five-year term is 317. The current Parliament has passed only 165, thereby torpedoing any chance of meaningful reform under the second term of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). This is the worst performance of any Lok Sabha since the first one, which had somewhat weightier discussions to undertake. Worst of all, even those Bills that are passed are frequently passed with insufficient debate, demonstrating the degree to which political parties today have debased India’s public sphere. Only 23 % of laws passed by this Lok Sabha have been discussed for more than three hours. Ten Bills were passed in less than half an hour; as many as 20 in just five minutes. Clearly, not enough attention was paid by parliamentarians to the laws that they approved. Meanwhile, the unfinished agenda – including major anti-corruption Bills, the reform of regulatory structures, and so on – just builds up. As many as 126 Bills remain to be passed; more than half – 72 – in the Lok Sabha. Many of these Bills, which were introduced during the current tenure of the Lok Sabha, will lapse after this session, a waste of time and energy.
(Source: Business Standard dated 12-02-2014)
