A productive parliament session

The govt reali-sed there are no short cuts to pass the bills.

The Budget Session of Parliament that ended last week has made a bit of an important kind of legislative history. Besides making record official business during the past five years, the two Houses, notwithstanding disruptions and adjournments, produced the most productive Budget Session during the last decade in terms of time. Of course, delays due to disruptions and interruptions made the Lok Sabha lose several hours of parliament’s time but the loss was made up by the members who skipped their lunch break and put in over 42 hours of extra work. The Upper House also created history of sorts by passing a private members’ bill, a first in 36 years. Both Houses unanimously passing the Constitution Amendment Bill for the operationalising of the Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh was another plus.

But how did Members of Parliament get so much work done? True, the government has the largest majority in the Lok Sabha in the last 30 years of Indian political history. In the Rajya Sabha, the government, however, realised – albeit belatedly – that only a “give and take” approach will work in the absence of numbers to push any legislation. Of course, a rejuvenated opposition ensured that the government was forced to refer two important bills to parliamentary panels: The land acquisition bill to a joint parliamentary committee and the Goods and Services Tax Bill to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha. The first bill marked the failure of the government for a second time to push it through. The Centre was keen on passing the GST Bill, a constitutional amendment, to tout it as a major finance reform before the completion of its one year in office.

At the end, the BJP-led government realised that there are no short cuts to pass the bills. It has been fortunate that the Opposition parties have not given back what it did to the government as the principal Opposition party during most of the parliament sessions in the last few years. The BJP was in the forefront of disrupting the sessions owing to which little transaction could take place, especially during the UPA II regime. There is, now, perhaps realisation of the golden rule that President Pranab Mukherjee had often sought to drive home. A smooth functioning of the Houses presupposes that the Opposition must have its say at all times while the government must have its way in legislative business. After all, law-making is one of the primary tasks of Parliament. Politics can always wait for another day.