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Political Diary
New Delhi, 22 February 2014
Death Of Fifteenth
Lok Sabha
MPs REVEL IN
BLACKEST CHAPTER
By Poonam I Kaushish
How does one begin an epitaph of the just-demised Fifteenth Lok
Sabha? That it was the blackest chapter
in India’s
high temple of democracy, of repeated acrimony, pandemonium and fist-cuffs
which crippled its life for the last five years. Which will be remembered for
all the wrong reasons: Marked by a verbal torrent of puerile discourse, chicanery,
denigration and trivialization, shamelessly exposing the ugly and raw
underbelly of power politics down to the gutter level!
Nothing illustrates the tragic state of affairs than the
proceedings of both Houses during the passage of the Telengana Statehood Bill last
week which not only turned Constitutional procedures on its head to score
political points but also converted the Houses into akharas. With MPs physically attacking each other, exchanging blows,
uprooting microphones, smashing the glass on the Secretary General’s table,
snatching the Speaker’s papers culminating in an MP squirting pepper spray on
his compatriots while another brandished a knife.
Alas, the politics of dadagiri
became the mainstay of the 15th Lok Sabha. Daily one was witness to
chaotic unruly scenes with MPs gunning for each other, legislative papers being
snatched and torn, mikes being uprooted,
Right Honourables rushing into the well of the House at a drop of a hat and
politics of ‘might is right’ as the raison d atre of a ‘successful’
Parliament session. The Rajya Sabha hit a new low last year 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.
This was bound to happen. The signs were all there. Who can
forget the “midnight” drama enacted in the Upper House on the penultimate day
of the winter session in 2012. 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.
What to speak of the innumerable scams, CWG, 2G spectrum, Coalgate to the
latest KG 6 basin gas pricing which rocked each session every year.
Recall, the 2010 Winter Session was ‘frozen’ over the 2G
scam till the Government agreed to a JPC on the spectrum allocation. Even as
the Opposition and UPA II slugged it out over the losses caused to the national
exchequer due to the 2G spectrum scam, none cared that their stand-off resulted
in wastage of over Rs. 200 crore (each minute costs over Rs26,000) on account
of Parliament not functioning for the entire 25-day session.
None felt remorse that the Lok Sabha wasted 80% and Rajya
Sabha 72% time in pandemonium with only four out of 32 Bills being passed that
too sans discussion in the month long session. In 2011 too, the monsoon session
was washed out by the Rs.1.86 lakh crore Coalgate scam. Highlighting, 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
Worse, the five years were marked by increased confrontation
between the Treasury and the Opposition benches. There was no day when the Lok
Sabha did not witness a tug-of-war on anything and everything. The House was
repeatedly adjourned. Be it for a few hours if not the entire day due to MPs
displaying their might by rushing into the well of the House, hustling and
muscling the Speaker et al.
Consequently, the 15th Lok Sabha from 2009-14 met for just
345 days and 1,331 hours whereby legislative work took a back seat. In the last
five years, the Government has managed to pass only 165 bills leaving 126 bills
pending. Unlike the three Lok Sabhas from 1952-67 which sat for an average of
600 days and more than 3,700 hours.
Shockingly, the Lok Sabha lost 723.7 hours due to
disruptions including over 40% of the Question Hour resulting in lower
accountability of the Government to Parliament. Only 73 out of 440 starred
questions (16.5%) were taken up in 2010, 47 of 300 (15.6%) in 2011 and just 11
out of 399 (12.4%) in 2012.
In fact, the 15th Lok Sabha will be remembered for what it
didn’t do: Its inability to pass legislation wherein out of 31 Bills listed for
passage in last year winter session but only one the Lokpal Bill was passed.
Add to this, it was productive for 63% of the total scheduled time of which
only a fifth of the time was spent on legislative work, only 13% of the time
originally scheduled.
More scandalous, only 165 Bills were passed till date
leaving 126 Bills as pending. This is half of 333 Bills India’s first Lok Sabha
(1952-1957) passed. Even less than the average 317 Bills passed by Lok Sabhas
which finished full five-year terms. The
result? All the Bills have lapsed.
Sadly, 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.
One can go on about the death of Parliamentary democracy
represented in the 15th Lok Sabha. That we are slowly heading
towards disaster is obvious. What troubles one is that it does not strike a
chord among our netagan. Who largely
continue to drift along smugly without thinking of how they have mauled
Parliament. Most distressing is that there is no sense of outrage or shame.
Even as the peoples’ disillusionment and revulsion with our jan sevaks grows.
As we go to polls, our netagan
must understand that becoming an MP is not an end in itself. It entails
upholding Parliament’s sovereignty, behaving transparently and bringing
accountability in the system. Therein, the 15th Lok Sabha should serve as a
lesson of the DO NOTS of Parliamentary etiquette and working. The next
Government could re-introduce and revive discussion on important Bills. The
challenge for MPS would be to transcend partisan politics, have constructive
debates on Bills and issues of national importance.
Time our polity introspect and answer one question: Will
they allow Parliament to sink under the weight of its increasing
decadence? It is paramount that our new
set of Parliamentarians promise to heed voices of reason and strengthen
Parliamentary democracy before people begin to mock at it in sheer disgust.
Clearly, it is time to give serious thought to rectifying
the flaws in our system and urgently overhauling them. If necessary, rules
should be drastically changed to put Parliament back on the rails. Indira
Gandhi once wisely said: “Parliament is a bulwark of democracy… It has also a
very heavy task of keeping an image that will gain it the faith and respect of
the people. Because, if that is lost, then I don’t know what could happen
later.” Time to heed her words and stop the drift towards disaster! ---- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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