Monsoon session, welcome change

The monsoon session of Parliament, which concluded last week, made a welcome change from the recent record of continuous obstruction and blockade of proceedings which had become a norm. Both Houses functioned normally during the session which had 20 sittings over 26 days, transacted important legislative business and had fruitful discussions and debates on a variety of issues. It is after many years that MPs and parties were seen taking the business of Parliament seriously. Most of the time in the last two years of the previous Lok Sabha and much of the present Lok Sabha’s time was lost to acrimony. The only difference was that the then opposition is in government now. The Rajya Sabha did no better than the Lower House. While the issues kept changing, contention and confrontation did not, and it sent out the message to the nation that Parliament had become dysfunctional.

The turnaround now is remarkable. The Lok Sabha passed 15 bills and worked for 111% of its scheduled working hours. The Rajya Sabha passed 14 bills and sat for about 100% of its working time. The most important legislative achievement was the passage of the Constitution amendment bill on the Goods and Services Tax. Other important legislations like the Mental Health Care Bill were also passed, with many MPs showing keen interest even in their details. The GST bill saw a thorough and informed debate befitting the importance of the subject. Serious discussions were also witnessed on issues like the situation in Kashmir and the increasing attacks on Dalits in some parts of the country. The credit for the improved performance of Parliament should go both to the government and the Opposition. It is mainly the responsibility of the government and the ruling party to ensure that Parliament functions smoothly and carries out its legislative business. The NDA government was perhaps complacent and even arrogant, but a fighting and obstructing opposition brought it to its senses.

There is no certainty whether the coming sessions will be as smooth and productive as the last. The government and the Opposition are equally important in a democratic system. It is only when both respect each other and value each other’s functions and responsibilities that the parliamentary system works well and successfully. Narrow politics and narrower personal considerations can get the better of good sense and national interest and make the government, parties and the leaders go back to their acrimonious days. That will be unfortunate, and hopefully they will realise that they will only gain from working the system and lose by destroying and devaluing it.