parliament: Unease of doing Parliament business

A parliamentary democracy where Parliament is barely functional doesn’t speak well of a democracy, no matter its credentials as the largest in the world. The Budget session that ended last week is the least productive in the last five years. Instead of the 133.6 scheduled hours, Lok Sabha worked 45.9 hours. Rajya Sabha worked 32.3 of its 130 scheduled hours. Parliament was routinely disrupted with the post-recess session reduced to a slugfest between the treasury benches and Opposition. This unease of doing parliamentary business is shameful.

Discussion is central to democracy, and Parliament is the arena for it. It is where people’s representatives discuss and debate issues and laws, and ask questions and hold government to account. When Parliament is low on productivity, it is the people who get short-shrifted. Laws get passed without discussion or get held up; government gets away without explaining its policies and actions. This my-way-or-highway approach is not new. But explaining away such unprofessionalism by tu-tu mein-mein simply won’t hold water.

The Business Advisory Committee in both Houses, comprising MPs from all parties in the House, is tasked with inclusion and allocation of time for government and other business. The party in government is vested in ensuring a functioning Parliament as it is critical to their legislative agenda. Reason and argument, not decibel levels, are the measure of parliamentary productivity. With Parliament proceedings freely available in the public domain, people can easily determine those responsible for the dysfunction. Water seeks its own level. The citizenry should demand more from its representatives.