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Parliament adjourns four days ahead of schedule |
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The Monsoon session of Parliament adjourned sine die on Monday, Sept. 10, four days ahead of schedule as there was no sign of the end of the impasse between the UPA Government and the opposition over the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The nuclear issue which has resulted in deep strains in the UPA relations with the Left allies cast its shadow over the entire month-long session. The BJP-led NDA and the Third Front, UNPA, stuck to their demand for setting up of a Joint Parliamen¬tary Committee to examine the deal. The opposition parties which stalled proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, did not allow even a debate on the nuclear deal. The NDA dismissed the UPA-Left nuclear panel as ‘insulting’ to Parlia¬ment.
In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said, “it was extremely disturbing that the highest public forum in the country has almost come to a standstill which has raised questions about the utility of our system, of parliamentary democracy and its future.” He appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee, Opposition leader L.K. Advani and others to look into the state of affairs.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi later slammed the BJP, calling its conduct throughout the session “unfortunate and unbecoming.”
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, speaking to journalists in New Delhi on Sept. 10, said that vital issues were not discussed and no debate was allowed in the Monsoon session of Parliament. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury criticised the opposi¬tion for preventing all parties from expressing their views on the nuclear deal through a debate.
Half of Monsoon session wasted
Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha worked for less than 50% of their scheduled time during the Monsoon session which ended abruptly on Sept. 10. Estimates show that the Lok Sabha lost 42 hours due to interruptions and that four Bills were passed in the people’s forum without any debate.
This session, Lok Sabha worked for 65 hours - that is 47% of the scheduled time of 138 hours, says a study conducted by PRS Legislative Research, an independent non-profit group.
On the days when it was convened, the lower House worked on an average of four hours compared to the scheduled time of six hours per day.
The Rajya Sabha showed a similar disappointing trend. The upper House worked for a total of 52 hours during the Monsoon session - 45% of its scheduled time, the study says.
On the days the House convened, it functioned for an average three hours compared to its stipulated time of five hours. Three bills were passed without discussion.
Political scientist Imtiaz Ahmed believes that the problem is systemic. He says that the parliamentary system itself has weakened because successive governments have rendered the politi¬cal institutions ineffective. Besides, he adds, the parliamentary debates have lost their glamour because significant policy issues are not brought up.
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