The decision of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs to convene the monsoon session for just 24 days, instead of the usual longer duration, has bolstered the opposition’s allegation that repeated legislative setbacks have made the Modi government wary of Parliament.
Commencing on July 21 and concluding on August 13, the session will be shorter than any monsoon session during the second stint of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
In 2009 and 2010, the first two years of UPA-II, the monsoon session lasted 37 days each. In 2011 it was two days longer, running for 39 days, and in 2012 it went on for 31 days. Even in 2013, when the opposition stridently attacked the UPA government over its many corruption scandals, the mid-year session still convened for 26 days.
The curtailment this year could be for a handful of reasons, it is believed.
Avoiding embarrassment
The first is the row stoked by former cricket tsar Lalit Modi. His revelations against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje appears set to embarrass the government in the monsoon session, especially because the Congress and the Left parties have made it clear that they will not let Parliament function unless the two are removed from their positions.
The second cause is the fear of a repeat of the parliamentary hurdles set up by the opposition in the past. The Bharatiya Janata Party government witnessed several embarrassing moments in the budget session in the Rajya Sabha as the opposition stood united against it. Apart from blocking many of the bills, the opposition put the government on the mat when the Rajya Sabha, in a rare event, passed a resolution amending the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
Equally embarrassing for the government was the passage of a private members bill on the rights of transgender persons. This was the first private members bill to be passed in 46 years. Generally, private members – those who are not ministers and who are allowed to list and discuss business they think are relevant – withdraw their bill after receiving due assurance from the government.
Discouraging debate
Though all three sessions of Parliament – budget, monsoon and winter – are uniform in their purpose, the monsoon session is dedicated largely to discussions on matters of public interest since the budget session gets dominated by financial legislation and the winter session revolves around issues that could not be taken up in the second session.
The Parliamentary Affairs Committee’s decision on Wednesday to cut short the monsoon session may also well be a sign of Modi wanting to revert to his Gujarat model of running the legislature.
As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi did not really encourage debate in the assembly. The state assembly met for an average of 30 days a year under him, as compared to an average of 49 days a year under his predecessor Keshubhai Patel. Also, during Modi’s reign the average assembly sittings were shorter than under all previous chief ministers of the state. In 2012, the assembly created an unusual record under Modi when on July 19 it met for a one-day session.
Commencing on July 21 and concluding on August 13, the session will be shorter than any monsoon session during the second stint of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
In 2009 and 2010, the first two years of UPA-II, the monsoon session lasted 37 days each. In 2011 it was two days longer, running for 39 days, and in 2012 it went on for 31 days. Even in 2013, when the opposition stridently attacked the UPA government over its many corruption scandals, the mid-year session still convened for 26 days.
The curtailment this year could be for a handful of reasons, it is believed.
Avoiding embarrassment
The first is the row stoked by former cricket tsar Lalit Modi. His revelations against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje appears set to embarrass the government in the monsoon session, especially because the Congress and the Left parties have made it clear that they will not let Parliament function unless the two are removed from their positions.
The second cause is the fear of a repeat of the parliamentary hurdles set up by the opposition in the past. The Bharatiya Janata Party government witnessed several embarrassing moments in the budget session in the Rajya Sabha as the opposition stood united against it. Apart from blocking many of the bills, the opposition put the government on the mat when the Rajya Sabha, in a rare event, passed a resolution amending the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
Equally embarrassing for the government was the passage of a private members bill on the rights of transgender persons. This was the first private members bill to be passed in 46 years. Generally, private members – those who are not ministers and who are allowed to list and discuss business they think are relevant – withdraw their bill after receiving due assurance from the government.
Discouraging debate
Though all three sessions of Parliament – budget, monsoon and winter – are uniform in their purpose, the monsoon session is dedicated largely to discussions on matters of public interest since the budget session gets dominated by financial legislation and the winter session revolves around issues that could not be taken up in the second session.
The Parliamentary Affairs Committee’s decision on Wednesday to cut short the monsoon session may also well be a sign of Modi wanting to revert to his Gujarat model of running the legislature.
As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi did not really encourage debate in the assembly. The state assembly met for an average of 30 days a year under him, as compared to an average of 49 days a year under his predecessor Keshubhai Patel. Also, during Modi’s reign the average assembly sittings were shorter than under all previous chief ministers of the state. In 2012, the assembly created an unusual record under Modi when on July 19 it met for a one-day session.
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