Parliament for discussion, not disruption, says Tharoor
Expressing frustration over repeated disruption of Parliament, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said the Legislature should be used for deliberations and not disruptions.
“I have been advocating for quite sometime that we need to use Parliament as a forum much more for discussion and much less as a forum for disruption,” Tharoor said days after Lok Sabha secretariat issued a code of conduct for MPs as the House revoked the suspension of eight opposition MPs earlier flagged for unruly conduct. The Thiruvananthapuram MP, however, said, “Mine is the small minority view in the Opposition.”
He was speaking during a discussion on former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar’s book ‘Guardians of the Republic’ moderated by noted political scientist Neera Chandhoke. Tharoor expressed satisfaction over the fact that there were still some forums such as India International Centre where people could discuss things of public importance.
Responding to a question from the audience on backsliding democracy in India, Tharoor said the fact that such things could still be said showed that things were not that bad. Chandhoke and activist Yogendra Yadav alleged that the Supreme Court has in the resent times shown majoritarian impulse
Kumar said the Judiciary needed to reinforce its credentials. He, however, praised the Supreme Court’s steller record in developing human rights jurisprudence and expanding the ambit and scope of fundamental rights.
