Disrupting Parl for political interests isn’t debate: Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday cautioned against repeated disruptions in Parliament and state Assemblies, saying legislatures were meant for debate and discussion, not for being stalled in the name of Opposition politics.“Parliament or Assemblies are places of debate and discussion, but it is not good if the House is not allowed to function session after session for narrow political gains,” Shah said, while addressing the All-India Speakers Conference in New Delhi.

His remarks came three days after Parliament’s recent monsoon session ended with little business being transacted amid the Opposition’s protests.

The Home Minister urged both the government and the Opposition to uphold the dignity of legislatures by ensuring free, fair and rule-based debate.

“We should strive to offer an unbiased platform to raise issues concerning people of our country. An unbiased argument must be done by the government and the Opposition. We must ensure that the functioning of a House is carried out as per the rules of the respective House,” he said.

Shah further said that “serious consequences” have followed whenever legislative institutions have lost their dignity.

The day also marked the beginning of India’s legislative history. Vitthalbhai Patel had become the first Indian Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly on August 24, 1925.

Commemorating the centenary of Patel’s appointment, Shah said, “It is a matter of pride for all of us that today we all have gathered on the completion of 100 years of Vitthalbhai Patel becoming Speaker of the Central Assembly.”

“When we talk about Vitthalbhai Patel, people of Gujarat proudly say that the state gave two brothers, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who worked with Mahatma Gandhi for Independence, and Vitthalbhai Patel, who laid the foundation of India’s legislative traditions,” Shah said.