Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Legislatures have been in ferment in two of the most mature democracies. In Britain,they await the result of an early May referendum on reforming the first-past-the-post system of electing representatives and on mandating a fixed term for the House of Commons. In the US Senate,the uses of the filibuster,the longstanding technique of holding off the majority in the House,have been contested. The point appears to be to nudge old-fashioned legislatures into a better connect with representative democracy. But,here in India,where recent images of Parliament being serially adjourned due to disruptions have conveyed an impression of stasis,we often forget how the institution,less than 60 years after the first Lok Sabha was elected,is constantly evolving by responding to new situations. The constant effort at change is worth highlighting at this point,when it is felt that proceedings are somehow not able to accommodate the issues and debates of the day.
As our columnist,the Congresss Jayanthi Natarajan,points out today,the standing committees of Parliament are a relatively recent innovation,dating back to 1993. They have deepened Parliaments mandated oversight over the government and made it more consultative discussions take place away from the public glare,de-incentivising grandstanding and also allowing MPs to respond to a subject without the constraints of the party line. But given the nature of issues that arise,she recommends that there be easier access to experts to guide members if need be. Similarly,our columnist on Monday,the BJPs Arun Jaitley listed more reforms that could be adopted to strengthen Parliament. The duration of sessions,he noted,is too short,at an estimated 70 days to admit all the issues agitating MPs. The level of engagement could be further raised by adopting the Westminster tradition of prime ministers questions. And to liberate MPs to speak their mind,perhaps the anti-defection law can be relaxed by excluding debates as opposed to voting from its stringent purview.
