Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took on the Opposition members who stood by the over 140 MPs suspended in the last Parliament session and said that those eulogising “politicians convicted of corruption are disrespecting the Constitution”. “There was a time when if a member violated the decorum of the House, and there was action taken against him/her, senior members would advise him/her to not repeat such a mistake and ensure the decorum of the House was maintained in future. But now we have seen that some political parties start defending the mistakes of such members by standing up for them. This situation is not good for either Assemblies or Parliament. How the decorum of the House can be maintained is an essential discussion,” Modi said while virtually addressing the All India Presiding Officers' Conference. In the last session of Parliament in December last year, 146 Opposition MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were suspended following ruckus in both the Houses over the demand for statement from government over Parliament security breach. “Earlier, if a member was accused of corruption, all public representatives would begin keeping a distance from that member. But today we see even members convicted and sentenced by the courts being glorified publicly. This is disrespect to the executive, the legislature and also the Constitution,” Modi said. The PM’s remarks may be a reference to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, who has been convicted in the fodder scam. The statement comes at a time when the RJD-JDU alliance in Bihar is on the verge of a split and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is expected to join NDA once again. On the need to enhance the functionality of legislative bodies, Modi said, “Today, the way people are analysing public representatives with great awareness, such discussions will be very useful. The way a public representative behaves in the House, that country’s Parliamentary system is seen in the same light. How can the behaviour of public representatives in the House and the environment of the House remain positive consistently, how the productivity of the House can be increased… for this the suggestions that emerge from this conference will be very helpful.” Referring to the Women Reservation Bill (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam), Modi encouraged discussions on suggestions aimed at enhancing women's participation and representation. “Efforts to empower women and increase their representation must be amplified in committees in a country like India,” he said. He also stressed the need to increase the participation of youth in the committees. “Our young representatives must get maximum opportunity to put their views and participation in policy-making,” the PM said. The Prime Minister recalled the concept of one nation, one legislative platform put forward in his 2021 address to the Presiding Officers and expressed happiness that Parliament and state Assemblies are working on this goal through E-Vidhan and Digital Sansad Platforms.
