Priyanka Saurabh
People’s faith in the democratic system is also shaken due to the non-functioning of Parliament and noise. Therefore, it has become extremely important that the rules which hinder the smooth functioning of the Parliament should be rectified at the earliest. To uphold the values of our parliamentary democracy, we must elect ethically trained representatives; And the Members of Parliament and State Legislatures should set themselves as an example to the public, especially the youth. Parliament is often called the ‘temple of democracy’. This is because it is one of the highest institutions in which representative democracy is implemented. Its work is vital to the fulfillment of the promise of the Government of India and the Preamble.
As an institution, Parliament is central to the idea of democracy and was assigned an important role in our Constitution by the founders of the Republic. It is responsible for legislation and should be involved in discussion and debate on issues concerning the nation and its citizens. Parliament is the temple of democracy which provides the highest platform to discuss, debate, and decide the issues for the betterment of the people. These debates provide a platform for parliamentarians to express their opinions and concerns and contribute to policymaking. It allows parliamentarians to voice the interests of the people of their constituencies, aiding in better policy formulation, diverse views, and informed decision-making. The Indian Parliament as the temple of democracy has declined in recent years. There are mainly two reasons for this decline. There is not enough sitting or work in the Parliament. And there are institutional constraints on its performance while working. Apart from income and wealth, the criminalization of politics is a reality. ADR, the Association for Democratic Reforms, reports that as of 2019, 43 per cent of sitting MPs have a criminal record, compared to 34 per cent in 2014. ‘Competitive hooliganism’ is a common sight in Parliament in recent years. There are also institutional constraints on the performance of MPs. The allocation of time for MPs to speak is in proportion to the strength of their political party in the House, and its leadership decides who gets to speak and for how long. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha has some discretion in the matter. The only other opportunities for MPs are during Question Hour or Zero Hour. During Zero Hour, the speaker or speaker has the discretion to invite an MP to speak, but time is very short and speeches are often drowned in tumult. In India, anti-defection law states that a three-line whip can be defied only if more than one-third of the party’s MPs do so. This is the unintended consequence of a law that mitigates one problem but creates another, weakening our Parliament as an institution. The excruciatingly slow process of legislating major policy decisions, interspersed with months and years of acrimonious deadlock in parliament, all marred by rare successes. Many rules related to the running of Parliament have not changed since independence till today. The biggest example of this and which is the reason for most of the obstacles in the Parliament in today’s time is the debates and other motions. For example, the procedure for filing a motion of censure. This rule, which has been going on since colonial times, gives this special right to the speaker. The Speaker’s decisions on such matters are based on the consensus reached by the Business Advisory Committee, which has representation from all major parties in Parliament. The government has a majority in the house, so its decisions are the most important in all the works related to the house, and in this way, such topics which make the government uncomfortable are not presented. This requirement of consensus gives the government a veto over any debate or vote in Parliament. The veto which was created for the Viceroy to keep the Parliament of pre-independence India under control continues to be misused in independent India. In addition, the ruling party often tries to pass a bill by voice vote alone, ignoring demands for a vote after a discussion on a topic that might embarrass it if it receives less support than it claims. For this reason, many important laws that deserve detailed debate are passed by voice vote and often in tumult. Despite its decline in prestige in recent times, the Indian Parliament reflects the depth of democracy. In the last 75 years, the Indian Parliament has had many achievements to its credit, despite its growing unpopularity. Parliament reflects the depth of democracy, which has an impact on its functioning. However, it marked a fundamental re-imagining of the British parliamentary system and its procedures, which the Indian Constituent Assembly chose to adopt after independence. At the same time, Parliament has fully discharged its responsibility of simply deliberating and making laws and ensuring accountability and transparency in government. Parliament can amend its rules to give MPs more power when facing the government and enable its committees to play a greater role in the legislative process. For greater knowledge and subsequent legal review, each legislative proposal should include a full analysis of the social, economic, environmental, and administrative impacts. A new Legislative Committee should be set up in Parliament to supervise and coordinate legislative development. Now the roles have changed. Till some time ago the party which was called the opposition party has now formed the government in the Parliament. The ruling parties can misuse the same provisions for their benefit or they can bring minor changes in the working of the Parliament by following the best international practices. I am sure that such changes will be supported by MPs from different parties and this will restore the credibility of our apex institution among the general public. Development work and welfare schemes get hampered due to the disruption of Parliament. Apart from this, people’s faith in the democratic system is also shaken due to non-functioning and noise in the Parliament. Therefore, it has become extremely important that the rules which hinder the smooth functioning of the Parliament should be rectified at the earliest. To uphold the values of our parliamentary democracy, we must elect ethically trained representatives; And the Members of Parliament and State Legislatures should set themselves as an example to the public, especially the youth. Parliament is often called the “temple of democracy”. This is because it is one of the highest institutions in which representative democracy is implemented. Its work is vital to the fulfillment of the promise of the Government of India and the Preamble.
