India's Parliament in shambles Updated Oct08 Introduction Parliament & other institutions are foreign imports, alien entities; they have not been adapted to Indian conditions. Indian MPs still have the bazaar mentality (interrupting, shouting down, not listening). They have not been trained and disciplined for rational discussion and debate. Lord Parekh, speaking at the Nehru Centre, London (06 Feb08) said: "Yes we have succeeded economically. But there has been no corresponding progress in our political institutions.  The party system is an absolute disaster. In Parliament, when I was there - you cannot speak for five minutes without someone shouting you down..." An unruly Parliament NDTV.com (March 2, 2008) carried an article: Speaker complains of unruly MPs Expressing concern over the conduct of MLAs and MPs, Lower House (Lok Sabha) Speaker Somnath Chatterjee complained of a lack of discipline in the political class that can sustain the democratic structure. ''In the frequent incidents of disruptions of the Legislature and in the growing confrontational politics, common people are perceiving a lack of seriousness in the political class in sustaining the democratic structure,'' Chatterjee told the valedictory function members of Gujarat Legislative Assembly in Gandhinagar. ''Incidents of unruly behaviour by members and disruption of proceedings of the House have unfortunately increased in recent years. 'It is a matter of serious concern that on the plea of non-functioning of legislatures, other organs are intruding into the area of the legislative organ... 'They are creating an imbalance in our constitutional set up and destroying the principle of separation of powers. Of late, I find that the growing confrontational politics takes the upper hand, often provoking a demand for the suspension of the Question Hour, to raise issues which could very well be raised late in the day without sacrificing the Question Hour.'' MPs don’t work enough and are undisciplined Indian Express (Mar 15, 2008) During the past year or so, on several occasions Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohammed Hamid Ansari have lamented time lost in Parliament by frequent interruptions. An exasperated Chatterjee even said, "Burn the rule book near Mahatma Gandhi's statue."   Their anguish is reflected in the numbers. The Lok Sabha functioned for just 66 days in 2007, one of the lowest in several years. The Lok Sabha worked 4.3 hours per day on an average as against the scheduled 6 hours, and the Rajya Sabha worked 3.3 hours as compared to the scheduled 5 hours for each day. This presents a 35-40 per cent drop in actual working time of both Houses, compared to the previous year.   The number of bills passed in 2007 was 46, which is lower than the 65 passed the previous year. Of the non-financial bills passed, the Lok Sabha passed about 40 per cent of them with little or no debate as compared with about 30 per cent such bills in the Rajya Sabha. But the truth is that even these shocking numbers do not quite capture the gravity of the situation. Legislation passed in Parliament has far-reaching implications, and the basic thinking on an issue is frozen for a long time. Many important Acts that are in force, such as the Land Acquisition Act, the Police Act were passed in the 19th century. Even though they have undergone amendments, the basic framework remains largely frozen. The policy costs of such lack of deliberation in Parliament, and society at large, can prove very high in the medium and long term. In the face of such a decline in the performance of Parliament, the rules of both Houses of Parliament confer several powers on the speaker to initiate disciplinary action against 'erring' members. The Lok Sabha rules specify, "The Speaker shall preserve order and shall have all powers necessary for the purpose of enforcing his decisions." There are three elements in the rules worth noting in this context:   - The Speaker may direct any member whose conduct is, in his opinion, grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately from the House, and any member so ordered shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the remainder of the day's sitting. - The Speaker can name a member and suspend the member for the rest of the session. - Under the automatic suspension clause, which can be invoked in the event of grave disorder occasioned, such member shall, on being named by the Speaker, stand automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever is less.   The Rajya Sabha also allows the chairman to take disciplinary action, but these actions are very rarely resorted to. What can be done? At the Whips Conference, the chairman and the speaker were most concerned about the disruptions to Question Hour, the time allotted for the government to respond to questions raised by MPs. It was felt that the sanctity of Question Hour, and indeed Parliament itself, needed to be restored.   But beyond this, several specific suggestions were made. First, raising the number of days on which the House convenes to about 130 days per year. It was pointed out that the legislatures of Britain and Canada both sit for more than 140 days a year. Second, any time lost due to disruptions must be compensated for by sitting longer hours on the same day. Third, the government and the opposition should specifically commit themselves to deliberating on issues for which a request is made by at least a third or a fourth of the members of the House.   It is indeed difficult for the speaker to move forward without the consensus of all the major political parties. An important test is to see whether the new arrangement about the Zero Hour can survive. While the Zero Hour is important, it is perhaps even more critical to allow the time for debate on bills. While the urgent issues raised in the Zero Hour might be addressed in the short term, legislation is likely to stay with us for a hundred years and more. The committee on privileges, leaders of political parties, and other significant actors have a lot of work to do towards an effective framework for the functioning of Parliament, and this may be the time to re-examine rules.   The speaker has gone on record saying, "The people are closely watching us ... We cannot further allow the prestige of this great institution to be lowered in the eyes of the citizens by our own people due to the totally inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour which is displayed in the House from time to time..."             *