The greatest identity of democracy is his parliament. Parliament is an institution where representatives elected by the people discuss the policies, schemes and laws of the nation. This is the highest platform where various ideologies and attitudes collide and solution is found in the country. But unfortunately today the image of the Indian Parliament is becoming synonymous with uproar, sabotage, noise and deadlock. The recently concluded monsoon session was its hallmark, which from the end to the end, the tragic uproar. This session was extremely disappointing and regrettable, as the conflict between the government and the opposition was fierce. The Rajya Sabha worked only 41.15 hours and 37 hours in the Lok Sabha. There was a lack of dialogue and sahai, many questions remained incomplete, which the country wanted to know. Here both sides were expected to be more prudent, harmony and balanced perspective, but both sides were destroyed by the interest. This situation is not only sad but also a matter of serious concern for the future of democracy.
A total of 120 hours for the Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha were scheduled for discussion, but the proceedings were only 37 hours. That is, more than 70 percent of the time in the Lok Sabha and more than 61 percent time in the Rajya Sabha, there was uproar and noise. Each hour spent in Parliament is operated by the public’s earnings of crores of rupees. When the same time is wasted, it is directly injustice to the public. An independent MP from Gujarat also raised the question that those MPs who make up the House by creating a ruckus, will they compensate for the waste of public money? This question is not only symbolic, but also the test of our seriousness towards democracy. Why are our political parties and public representatives bent on wiring the dignity and ideal of democracy more. How ironic is that 419 starred questions were included for the Lok Sabha proceedings and out of these, only 55 could get an oral answer.
Disagreement in democracy is natural and necessary. The job of the opposition is to raise the question, to make power accountable. But this work cannot be done by uproar, sloganeering and disrupting the proceedings of the House. Parliament is the platform of dialogue, not the arena of conflict. Unfortunately, the uproar and conflict have been replaced by debate and logic today. Due to this, neither the problems of the public are able to be discussed nor the dignity of Parliament is safe. Before the commencement of the session, it was agreed to discuss some issues between the government and the opposition in the Working Committee. However, it was forgotten as the session begins. Protests in the parliamentary tradition also have rights, but it is unfortunate and anxious to affect the dignity of the House and its functioning.
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Every citizen of India expects the Parliament that its problems will be discussed there-issues like arrows, inflation, corruption, education, health and safety will get priority. But when on the TV screen, when he sees his representatives patting, shouting slogans and making a ruckus in the well, his faith breaks and the mind is hurt. He feels that the leaders whom he had sent by voting is playing only politics instead of his interests. This is the reason that today the disillusionment of common citizens towards democracy is increasing. Anyway, this monsoon session was happening at a time when India is going through new challenges. The situation is rapidly on both foreign and economic fronts. In such a situation, it becomes even more important that there is a meaningful discussion on it in Parliament and the path is found out of the debate. There were many questions left in the Voter List Revision-SIR and Operation Sindoor in Bihar. The situation of punishment of the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and other ministers-that is in jail, the seriousness that was needed on the important issue like the Constitution Amendment Bill, which was removed from the post, did not appear.
Not only the opposition but also the ruling party in Parliament, but also an equal partner in it. When a party is in opposition, it takes every possible step to protest, and when the same party comes to power, it starts calling for the dignity of Parliament. This double attitude weakens democracy. It is not only the responsibility of the government but also the opposition. Both sides have to understand that they are servants of the public, and the public keeps a close watch on their functioning. Strict rules are required to maintain discipline and dignity in Parliament. If an MP repeatedly creates a ruckus, disrupts the proceedings of the House, then punitive action should be taken against him. Economic punishment can be an effective measure. Just as an employee is deducted salary in the office for dissolving discipline, the allowance and facilities of the MP should also be stopped. Only then will they understand that Parliament is not a playground but a sacred platform of the country.
Many times MPs argue that if their voice is not heard in Parliament, they are forced to create a ruckus. But this argument is not acceptable. There are enough opportunities to speak in Parliament, zero hour, question hour, special mention, permanent committees-all these forums give MPs an opportunity to raise issues. If these forums are used properly then there is no need for uproar. There should be a difference between road politics and parliament politics. If Parliament also starts to look like a road, then it is natural to question the sanctity of democracy. Now the time has come that the public should ask questions to their MPs. Voters should not only vote by looking at caste, religion or party, but also see how much time their representative is present in Parliament, how many times does he speak, how many questions asks and how seriously participate in the debate. The Election Commission and the media should also convey this data to the voters. When voters start deciding that their vote will only go to those leaders who work seriously in Parliament, then this trend will change.
The success of democracy is not only from the constitution or institutions, but from those who operate them. If only MPs do not fulfill their responsibility, then democracy will become hollow. Today, it is necessary that all political parties sit together and take a pledge that whether in power or in the opposition, they will not allow the dignity of Parliament to come down. Disagreement and conflict are part of democracy, but it should be disagreeed with logic and dialogue, not by uproar and chaos. The tendency of uproar in Parliament attacks the soul of democracy. It is a waste of public earning and insulting their expectations. This is a violation of resources and a violation of public confidence. The worrying thing is that such a result of parliamentary proceedings is now common. In the last winter session itself, more than 65 hours of Lok Sabha were wasted. It costs more than two and a half lakh rupees every minute to run the Parliament session. In such a situation, when the House does not work, then with these money of public earning money, the country’s very precious time also goes. There should be only debate in Parliament that give direction to the future of the country, find solutions to problems and make policies effective. If Parliament becomes the noisy and uproar an arena, then the purpose of democracy will fail. Protests are also necessary, but on issues and with positive purpose.
– Fine Garg
Writer, journalist, columnist
(The author has his own views in this article.)