No Lame Ducks

Lawmakers’ tryst with lung power is not a new phenomenon. It dates back to the days of Raj Narain, who had famously said once, “I only walk in to be carried out (by Marshals)”. The practice of pushing through bills amidst din is not new either. It started during the Bofors saga when the treasury benches used majority to have their way till NTR checkmated their game with his call to the opposition MPs to make the Rajiv Government a lame duck by resigning from the Lok Sabha

The high voltage theatrics over Telangana in Parliament pop up the question: what has gone wrong with the Indian Parliament? Parliamentary nirvana is in debate, say textbooks on political science. It is within reach of law makers if they follow convention and rules, says President Pranab Mukherjee, a veteran parliamentarian himself, and a recipient of the best parliamentarian award.

As the Lok Sabha was trying to come to grips with the T- bill amidst din and disruption, President Mukherjee found in the unveiling of the photos of former speakers the right moment to deliver a homily. Return to basics he told the lawmakers, comparing Parliament to the Gangotri of democracy, and asked in anguish, “If the Gangotri is polluted, how can Ganga be clean”. His advice went unheeded and the 15th Lok Sabha scripted a new chapter and set a record in ‘disrupted’ and ‘blacked-out’ proceedings.

It is easy to blame the politics of cynicism and opportunism we are witness to these days for the degeneration of things. But it is no consolation, and it offers no way out, which is need of the hour. Nor the calls for introspection when it is absolutely clear that the political leadership of the country is content with pursuing short term goals, and is refusing to look beyond its nose. The short point is that there is no need to give Telangana its due in darkness; it could have been heralded in a better manner.

Lawmakers’ tryst with lung power is not a new phenomenon. It dates back to the days of Raj Narain, who had famously said once, “I only walk in to be carried out (by Marshals)”. The practice of pushing through bills by voice vote amidst din is not new either. It has its origins in the days of Bofors saga when the treasury benches used their brute majority to have their way till they were checkmated in their game by NTR with his call to the opposition to make the Rajiv Government a lame duck by resigning from the Lok Sabha. But what we have witnessed now in the monsoon, winter and extended winter session of the 15th Lok Sabha, which will become part of history in about a month, is something for which the nation was unprepared.

The well of the House was turned into a battleground by a section of the MPs from the treasury benches. Whether what they did was right or wrong is not germane to our discussion. Germane, however, is the question: why did their leadership, the high command comprising mother-son duo, preferred to remain spectators. Such an action is a sure sign of abdicating or weakening authority and lame duck effect. Since it is inconceivable particularly at election time, a charitable conclusion can be that it was a put on act for a purpose.

If this prognosis is true, frankly, believe me, there is no reason to discount the theory, then the task of making our netas to reinvent the parliamentary basics will become difficult. And India, a country known at the best of times as an anarchy in motion, will have to come face-to-face, whether we like it or not, with Plato’s long forgotten observation that democracy is fragile because it is one step away from mobocracy.

Parliament is a talking shop, Congress leader VN Gadgil used to say. There can be no dispute with the veteran. I have seen members at their eloquent best even when the House is nearly empty because, for them, the immediate audience was of no interest. What matters for them are their constituencies. Some members are known to distribute their Lok Sabha speeches once they touched their base. For some members, whatever be their raisond’être, Parliament is a forum to walk in, shout and walk out.

Real parliamentary work is carried out in the standing committees, which are a legacy of the forgotten PV era. Impressed by Vakkam Purushottam’s experiment as Speaker of Kerala Assembly, PV gave the go ahead to constitute subject/ministry-specific standing committees to vet bills and the budget. His successors on the treasury benches have not lived upto his faith in the committee system, and using it as an instrument to make the government accountable to Parliament.

Well, that is a different matter, and fit enough for closer examination in another column. In the limited context of this space, it is fair and proper to point out that while the floor of Parliament is no more than din and noise, the standing committees are able to dissect the budgetary allocations and make the ministries accountable for their actions in no small measure. Also underscore the urgent need to restore people’s faith in Parliament since the live telecast of proceedings is what they see and hear and these have become a sad commentary on the way Indian democracy functions.

There is no gainsaying that the T-Bill should not become a precedent for Parliament. Rushing through legislation with no discussion whatsoever brings no credit. Socialist Rabi Ray had effectively used the stratagem of forcing an unruly member to take the floor. The Zero Hour was known as noise hour with the opposition front benches monopolising the few minutes of lime light before he became the Speaker. Ray changed the Zero Hour rules and opened the slot to the back-benchers.

Dissent is the way of parliamentary life; the floor managers as also the chair should display some sensitivity and allow the dissenters to take the floor instead of indulging in a shouting bout from the Well. It is the only way to restore the dignity of Parliament. Also its credibility. This task brooks no delay.

Likewise, Parliament should accept bills cleared by the standing committees even with amendments. Yes, without discussion since every section of the House is represented on the committees. This way alone Parliament will have no problem in shouldering its primary responsibility, even if members are exercised for one reason or the other.

(The writer, Delhi-based senior journalist, can be reached at [email protected])