Nariman asks House Chairs not to adjourn Parliament

Concerned over persistent disruptions in the Parliament, former Rajya Sabha member and veteran constitutional lawyer Fali S Nariman on Sunday urged the Rajya Sabha chairman and the Lok Sabha speaker not to adjourn the Houses despite worst provocations to do so, to frustrate disruptive MPs.

“The presiding offices should remain cool and remain steadfast in the chair despite MPs rushing into the well of the House and disrupting the proceedings as nothing else seems to be working. As long as the presiding officer is in the chair, the House is taken as in session and at least this raises some hope,” he said.

The legal luminary addressed the young members of the Parliament on the Dos and Don'ts for MPs during an orientation programme in New Delhi.

Frequent disruptions in the Parliament remain a worrisome issue for successive governments, which often cites official statistics to show how such disruptions not only led to significant loss to the national exchequer, but also robs the MPs off chances to raise key issues.

Last week at a function to award five outstanding Parliamentarians, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government lost the least when a House was adjourned, but the loss to the country was the most.

“Its a loss to the people represented by the MPs,” he had stated.

Nariman asked the lawmakers to develop proper ‘work ethic’ to do justice to the people and the institution of the Parliament.

He urged the MPs not to walk out of the Houses and even if they do so to return after a few minutes.

On the contentious issue of Indian politics getting devoid of ethics, Nariman cited the names of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deputy prime minister L K Advani and Speaker of the Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee as politicians with a strong sense of ethics.

Advani resigned form the Lok Sabha when L K initials were mentioned in Jain dairies and returned only after acquittal.

Vajpayee sacked a minister for casting aspersions over a Chief Justice of India regarding his date of birth. Chatterjee refusing to obey his party’s dictate to vote against the government during debate on nuclear deal.

“These are rare instances of ethical politics,” he said.