Decline of Parliament

Eleven out of the 15 sessions held during the Seventeenth Lok Sabha were adjourned early. As a result, 40 scheduled sittings (13 per cent of scheduled sittings) did not take place. In another dubious first, despite a Constitutional requirement, the 17th Lok Sabha did not elect its Deputy Speaker. During the 17th Lok Sabha, MPs were suspended on 206 occasions, Question Hour functioned only for 60 per cent of scheduled time in Lok Sabha and 52 per cent in Rajya Sabha, and on average, about 80 per cent of the Union Budget was passed without discussion, with the entire Budget 2023 being passed without any discussion

- DEVENDRA SAKSENA The writer is a retired Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax

Nowadays, a headline common to days the Parliament is in session reads: "Parliamentary proceedings disrupted due to ruckus by Parliamentarians," with equal chances of disruptors being either from the Opposition or the Treasury Benches. However, the nadir was reached when a few days ago, a physical scuffle broke out between Parliamentarians at the gate of Parliament, which led to hospitalization of two MPs, two cross FIRs, and a charge of near molestation by a lady MP against the Leader of the Opposition.

State Assemblies have sometimes witnessed fist fights between legislators, and some MLAs have been caught watching porn in Vidhan Sabhas; yet, this is the first time there was a physical exchange in Parliament. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar was constrained to observe in the Rajya Sabha: "As we conclude this session, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of our Constitution, we face a moment of serious reflection. While our celebration of Samvidhan Divas in the historic Samvidhan Sadan was made to reaffirm democratic values, our actions in this House tell a different story."

Speaking on Good Governance Day, 25 December 2021, Mr. Dhankar's predecessor, then Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu had similarly observed that good governance needed good legislatures to oversee the performance of the executive. Mr. Naidu, lamented that in a serious abdication of its responsibility, the Rajya Sabha had lost about 61 per cent of Question Hour time on account of disruptions. Sadly, disruptions have marred most of the subsequent sessions of Parliament as well.