Political Diary

New Delhi, 8 September 2012

Monsoon Hungama

PARLIAMENT: TIME TO EVOKE ESMA

By Poonam I Kaushish

Yawn! The outcome of Parliament’s Monsoon session predictably went according to script: Washed out by the Rs.1.86 lakh crore Coalgate scam. A piece of reckless raucous political theater repeatedly played in both Houses.  Underscoring how this temple of democracy is being used to score petty political points instead of reasoned debate and legislative business. Never mind, our Right Honourables go blue in the face about upholding the best tenets of Parliamentary democracy! Sic.

Big deal, if ‘silent’ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh slammed the BJP for “total negation of democracy” by obstructing discussion on Coalgate. Warning, that “preventing Parliament from functioning was the road to dysfunctional politics which will only produce agitational politics and a deeply divided and disenchanted country.”

The BJP hit back, “stalling Parliament is also a form of democracy and cited how stalling the 2010 Winter Session over the 2G scam resulted in the Government agreeing to auction 2G. Ditto would be the case vis-à-vis Coalgate. Whereby, the base price would be thousand-fold over the cost of running one Parliament session.

Any wonder, none felt remorse that the Lok Sabha wasted 80 per cent and Rajya Sabha 72 per cent time in pandemonium with only four out of 32 Bills being passed that too sans discussion in the month long session. With Parliament meeting for only 80 out of 365 days in a year for 6 hours daily, so what if it costs taxpayers Rs 2.5 lakh per minute to run the majestic circular building.

The contempt the powers-that-be have for Parliament can be gauged from the fact that when queried, about foregoing this session’s pay packet, including the Rs 2000 daily allowance, a majority of MPs’ said “No way. It is our birthright.” As are their palatial bunglows, bijli, paani and telephone paid for, security paraphernalia, Rs 5 lakhs MPLADs annually et al. Thereby, in their collective wisdom affixing their seal of approval on political harlotry of the worst kind.

Undoubtedly, it is nobody’s case that by not allowing Parliament to function our polity is making a mockery of the institution, reducing its importance and relevance. But what is disgusting and perturbing is not that obstructionism is becoming more the rule rather than exception, but that our polity largely continues to drift along smugly without any shame, desire to turn a new page and prevent its crumble.

Shockingly, treating sanguinely incidents wherein MPs gun for each other, legislative papers are snatched and torn with MPs rushing into the well of the House at a drop of a hat whereby stalling each House is considered passé. Rajya Sabha hit a new low last week when a Samajwadi and a BSP MP exchanged blows over the introduction of the Constitutional Amendment Bill (117) for SC/ST quotas in Government promotion.

Earlier too, both Houses had witnessed similar incidents.  Who can forget the “midnight” drama enacted in the Upper House on the penultimate day of the winter session last tear. Of a RJD MP snatching the Lokpal Bill from the Leader of the House hands and tearing it up just prior to it being put to vote.

Recall too, the Congress stalling Lok Sabha over ‘Coffingate’ during the NDA Government. What to speak, of glass panes being broken by regional parties while physically trying to prevent the passage of the Women Reservation Bill earlier. Tellingly encapsulated by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V. Narayanswamy, “This time I sat in the third row and had Congress MPs on both sides to ensure that the quota Bill is not snatched.”

True, one can pin the fall in standards to the fact that politics today is all about the game of numbers wherein in the coalition milieu regional parties use pressure tactics to get their way and say. Not only do the regional satraps believe that politics of dadagiri pays as witnessed in chaotic unruly scenes with paper weights serving as missiles, mikes being uprooted in various State Assemblies but also that politics of might is right is the raison d atre of a ‘successful’ Parliament session.

Alas, we have settled for size, form and not content wherein supremacy of Parliament seems to have been replaced with the ‘to the streets’ bugle. Thus, in this deteriorating political culture and ethos, Parliamentary proceedings have little material bearing on the course of politics. Think. In 1950 the Lok Sabha met for 127 and the Rajya Sabha 93 days. Sixty one years later, both Houses met for just 73 days in 2011.

Scandalously the question hour, considered the hyphen between the executive and legislature, too declined from 73 out of 440 starred questions (16.5%) being taken up in 2010 to 47 of 300 (15.6%) in 2011 and only 11 out of 399 (12.4%)  this year.

Against this, our Right Honourables got wealthier. If in 2004 they were 156 crorepatis with average assets of Rs 1.86 crores, the number of crorepatis went up to 315 and average assets to Rs 3.47 crores in 2009. So much for our jan sevaks caring about their janata! Adding insult to injury, they have become ruder and obnoxious following the Orwellian principle: We are more equal than you.  

More. Till 1974, the number of Lok Sabha sittings never dropped below 100, but since 1989, it has never crossed 100. In fact, 2004 was particularly bad, with the Lok Sabha meeting for just 48 and Rajya Sabha for 46 sittings. Also, the Railway Budget is now invariably passed after a less-than-an-hour discussion and the Demands for Grants of mind-boggling crores simply guillotined. Thereby, fast-tracking the breakdown of Parliament, leaving a widening chasm that may take years to bridge, if at all.

What next? The time has come for all MPs to see how they can strengthen Parliamentary democracy before people begin to mock at it in sheer disgust. One way is that on policy matters and legislative business the Treasury and Opposition Benches should rise above sectarian political loyalties and be guided more by what the country needs, the sense of the House than the rule book.

Another is to make the Executive accountable by taking a leaf out of Westminster. The House of Commons has a convention of a 40 minutes a week “PM’s Hour”, wherein MPs can extempore question him on any issue.

Thus, our leaders need to heed voices of reason. Tying up Parliament in trivia, sans business does not behove the world’s largest democracy. Time to change the rules to ensure accountability along-with amending the substance nomenclature whereby educated, honest MPs enter Parliament to serve the people rather than themselves. Perhaps, bring Parliament under ESMA (Essential Services Management Act) wherein disrupting its functioning will become an offence.

Our Right Honourables must introspect about what kind of legacy they are going to leave behind. Will they allow Parliament to sink under the weight of its increasing decadence? Remember what Gandhiji said: “In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place.” People devoid of conscience have no right to stay in power. Will our MPs heed? ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)