House sessions: Going through motions, little room for debate

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 25

Call it losing interest of the legislators to engage in a debate on issues of public importance or the failure of the political system to churn out statesmen, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha sessions are not only getting shorter, but also noisier.

From 45 sittings annually between 1952 and 1969 that saw MLAs participating in high-quality debates while abiding by the parliamentary traditions, conventions and etiquette, the Assembly now meets for just 15 days. Once the winter session of the current Vidhan Sabha gets over on November 29, the total sitting of the House this year would be of 15 days again.

The previous decade of the Akali-BJP government was no better when the legislators sat for just 165 days. And that too were lost in the mayhem caused by the treasury and Opposition benches. It is more disturbing when the diminishing quality of legislators’ participation is seen in context of expenditure incurred on them. A legislator monthly costs the exchequer over Rs 1 lakh.

Amid the pandemonium, the legislative business is wrapped up in a few hours. Sample this: In the September 2016, 21 Bills were passed in 60 minutes without any debate. On the concluding day of the last Assembly session of the SAD-BJP dispensation, 21 Bills were passed in nearly an hour amid unruly scenes.

If the last Budget session saw the incident of turban tossing, the September 2016 session during the Akali government saw shoes being hurled at the treasury benches and books and paper missiles thrown at the Speaker. The arena of debate and discussion has now become more of a photo op for the elected representatives.

The Opposition has been regularly demanding live telecast of the proceedings. A former Deputy Speaker says: “The very intent of conducting the session has been lost. It is being done more as a statutory requirement. The use of rights has been taken over by their abuse. The parties have groomed shouting brigades to take on opponents.”

If the ruling party is accused of shying away from debates on issues of public urgency and not encouraging discussions on Bills, the Opposition parties are equally to blame for only demanding longer sittings without contributing much. A number of legislators are not aware of the rules and procedures and do not come prepared for debates and discussions.

BJP leader and former Parliamentary Minister Madan Mohan Mittal says: “It is the role of the Speaker to smoothly conduct the House. If the Speaker is biased, the Opposition will get less time. The government should not avoid debates. The Speaker should allow special discussions on burning issues.”

Sharing experience of longer sessions, old timers reveal that there used to be discussions on supplementary agendas. No one used to disrupt the question hour. Now the House is adjourned even during the question hour.

Debates on the floor of the House by tall leaders such as Satpal Dang and Hardev Arshi are now confined only to the library of the Vidhan Sabha.

Earlier, party whips prepared their MLAs two months ahead of the session. The ruling parties used to have legislators as shadow ministers, who used to do ground work in preparing replies to questions. They did this to familiarise themselves with operational mechanisms, parliamentary traditions, conventions and etiquettes, said a former secretary of the Vidhan Sabha.

What the rule book says...

Rule 14-A of Chapter-IV in “Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business” in the Vidhan Sabha, provides that the total number of sittings in all sessions put together shall not be less than 40. It also provides that the recommendations of the Business Advisory Committee shall prevail in the matter of business to be transacted in the House.