Two, one, zero…Live

Their evolution as television stars continues apace. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has won all-party approval for his suggestion that Zero Hour proceedings be telecast live. About time. Zero Hour has a tempo and dynamic that distinguishes it from any other 60 minutes in a parliamentarian’s day. After the conclusion of Question Hour, with its sedate answers and supplementaries, the arrival of noon adds urgency to most MPs’ interventions. For the most part the lines that divide the ruling party/alliance from the rest become blurred. After the interrogation of the treasury benches during Question Hour, MPs zone out to voice the concerns of their constituents. The neglected heritage of Vaishali, the slumdwellers of East Delhi who don’t benefit from many MPLAD schemes, the forlorn coffee plantations of Coorg — on a good, responsive day, members strive to use parliamentary mechanisms to bring micro-problems to the notice of the Centre. On lost days — alas, their number continues to increase — Zero Hour falls victim to stormy marches to the well of the House and adjournments.

The people of India are entitled to keep track of all that. The primary motive behind telecasting Zero Hour is said to be the need to imbue proceedings with transparency and accountability. Certainly, there is nothing quite as astringent as the public gaze. To know that one’s fellow citizens — and voters — are watching must serve as an effective mechanism to keep members of Parliament responsive and charged. Two trends have unfortunately gathered momentum in recent years. One, in their interrogation of government, MPs are becoming increasingly agitational. Scrutiny of government is often reduced to angry chanting, without the more difficult articulation of opposition. Similarly, treasury benches often meet criticism by stonewalling it, rather than by meeting every attack with a well-argued reply. Beaming Zero Hour live into everyday homes should go some way in keeping MPs away from these easy, but so ugly, recourses.

Extended telecast of parliamentary proceedings, however, also keeps voters tethered. Amidst news of adjournments and confrontations, one tends to lose sight of the good that is happening in the domed precincts of Parliament. To put those discussions in the public domain would go a long way in checking scepticism and alienation.