President Pranab Mukherjee: Disruptions to Parliament sessions saddening

President Pranab Mukherjee opined that frequent disruptions and adjournments in Parliament and state assembly proceedings troubled him andA asked the political establishment to find a solution to the problem. "I am sad when I find that Parliamentary proceedings and state assembly proceedings are disrupted without transacting businesses," he said here.

The President said that nowadays "we find surreptitiously a new 'D' inserted along with debate, dissent and decision and the 'D' is disruption." "I find in political science no role of disruption in Parliamentary democracy," he added. He chided the minority few who were doing this to impose their own will. Repeated disruptions, he said, were also hampering proper debate and discussion on finance bills crucial for the country. He said that only 30 to 35 percent of Parliament time is devoted to issues of money and finance at a time when revenue expenditure has increased manifold and complexities have come. Noting that MPs and MLAs do not have time to scrutinise the expenditure, discuss the demands for grants and in detail the finance bill, Mukherjee asked, "Who else will do (it)?" "People have elected us to discharge our duties and responsibilities. If I do not discharge the responsibilities, it does not speak well," he added. The President asked leaders and the political establishment "to ponder over the disruptions and find a solution".