JOIN USIt is almost a month since parliament’s winter session began but no work has been done as the deadlock persists. The opposition is demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the telecom scandal, which the government is stubbornly opposing. Despite several attempts at negotiating a compromise, neither side is conceding ground and the stalemate persists. MPs assemble in parliament only to shout and heckle at each other, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House every day. The impasse is costing the exchequer dearly. Congress MPs are reported to have decided not to collect their daily allowance of Rs 2,000, ostensibly to capture the moral high ground. But surely the Congress knows that financial costs to the exchequer because of the current deadlock includes more than the daily allowance its MPs have so magnanimously sacrificed. A policy study group, PRS Legislative Research, has pointed out that the total expenditure for the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for a financial year is about Rs 385 crore and Rs 300 crore, respectively. So, both the Houses produce a loss of Rs 22 lakh per hour if no work is transacted. The Congress MPs ‘sacrifice’ of their daily allowance is a shallow show of responsibility to the working of our parliament. Nobody is impressed with their drama.
Instead, the government needs to tell the citizens of this country why it is opposed to a JPC. UPA MPs have been saying that the JPC demand is politically motivated. Sure it is but so is its rejection by government. Parliament is the institution for debating political issues. The Congress’ intransigence in conceding a JPC probe is only adding to the public perception that it has much to hide and fear. As for the opposition, their sloganeering and raucous behaviour in the House is anything but parliamentary. Both have demeaned this august institution with their behaviour.
The government has begun pushing through spending bills through voice-vote, over-riding opposition attempts to obstruct work. Dozens of crucial bills were to have been debated and enacted during this session. But little work has been done so far. And with just a few days left before the winter session ends and no signs of the stalemate ending, it does seem that this session will go down in India’s history as among the least productive. This is reason for our parliamentarians to hang their heads in shame.