It is needless to say that Parliament is the most important institution in a parliamentary democracy. It is supposed to echo the voice of the people and keep the government on its toes, doing as much as it can to check the arbitrary use of executive power.

But this ideas of what Parliament should be is being bulldozed session by session. On the one hand, the government seems to be happy to use the majority it enjoys in the Lok Sabha to push through laws with as little discussion as possible. On the other hand, the Opposition, through its stalling tactics, has facilitated an easy get away for the government.

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On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha passed the Budget, the Finance Bill, the Appropriation Bill, which enables the government to access funds from the Consolidated Fund of India, and the demand for grants by the over 50 ministries without any discussion. All these, which usually take weeks in the normal course, were completed in just over 30 minutes.

The government is pointing the finger at the Opposition, which has forced adjournments demanding discussion over many topics. The scenes in the Lok Sabha over the last few days gave an impression that neither the government nor the Opposition were ready for any debate. The commotion seemed to be a dramatic ploy. a lazy substitute for rigorous debates, participating in which is the fundamental duty of an elected representative. The government benefits from such chaos as it escapes scrutiny on many fronts. Despite consistent demands, no serious discussion was initiated on the recent Punjab National Bank scam or the sensitive question of forming the Cauvery Management Board as per the directive of the Supreme Court.

Last year, the Finance Bill was used to amend multiple laws that had nothing to do with taxation. Parts of this Bill is still under challenge in the Supreme Court. This year, the government mostly stuck to money matters in the Bill, but it was passed without debate despite the fact that the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved over 20 amendments to the Bill at the last moment. Important elements like retrospectively streamlining political donations under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, a major provision that has serious implications for electoral transparency, were pushed without any discussion.

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The method used to pass these Bills was so shocking that even parties which have been supportive of the government reacted sharply. Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M Thambidurai slammed the government’s indifference for failing to reach out to the Opposition to run Parliament smoothly.

Political parties should realise that while stalling Parliament could get them a few political points and some short-term benefits, this strategy would erode the institution bit by bit. When Parliament’s integrity is lost, so too will democracy’s.

The Big Scroll

Finance Bill: In one stroke, the BJP government has undermined several democratic institutions.

Punditry

  1.  Challenge after euthanasia verdict is to ensure dignity to the poor, says Sanjay Nagral in the Indian Express. 
  2.   Will the Opposition now come together to field joint candidates against the BJP? Smita Gupta in The Hindu on a pattern of Opposition unity that the BJP cannot ignore
  3.   A decade ago, The Wire series finale aired. The show was a Marxist’s idea of what TV drama should be, write Helena Sheeman and Sheamus Sweeny in Jacobin. 

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