WALK OUT

“Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed uproar and an adjournment after members of AIADMK raised the issue of 2G spectrum allocation.”

“The controversial bill that provides for payment of compensation in the event of a nuclear accident was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday amid protests and walkout by opposition NDA and Left parties which termed it as “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.

“The opposition members had forced adjournment of the house earlier after Chidambaram virtually ruled out inclusion of caste in the population count exercise. “

The above are extracts from News Reports in the newspaper for 2 days only.

When the Lok Sabha was discussing the Prevention of Torture Bill  on Thursday (May 6) evening, the penultimate day of the budget session, not more than 25 members were present in a house of 543 - a telling testimony of how productive the 2010 budget session was.

More than 117 hours or over 30 percent of the total scheduled 385 hours were lost during the 2010 budget session of parliament due to frequent disruptions and protests.

Each of the two houses lost 52 percent of crucial question hour time, according to an analysis of the just-concluded session done by PRS Legislative Research, an independent think tank that tracks the functioning of parliament.

There were 620 starred questions listed in the budget session, of which 76 could be answered. Thus, on an average, only about 2.37 questions could be answered per day.

Briefing reporters about the budget session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters here that the two houses had 32 sittings. While 70 hours were lost due to adjournments in the Lok Sabha, 45 hours were lost in the Rajya Sabha, he said.

Asked about some bills having been passed without discussion, Bansal said the situation had been created due to proceedings of the houses being disrupted.

He said there was demand for hike in salaries of MPs as salaries of government employees had risen substantially due to recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

Amazing, isn’t it? If this performance was translated to the daily wage earners ,or any average Private sector company, what would be the reaction of the Employers?

In a way, we ,the people of India are the owners of the Parliament.  What are we doing about it?

So why are walkouts and adjournments legal? Should not the presence of the MPs in the house be made mandatory except for health reasons? Though there are statements of concern, no action has yet been mooted or taken, and in all probability, nothing will be.

Also the conduct of the Members are deplorable. No one is allowed to speak properly. There are interruptions and shouting. The din is worse than the naughtiest classrooms or the fish market. The ones who shout and interrupt are the ones in demand. Every party have their “squads”. No party disciplines it’s MPs. They encourage interruptions, shouting, table thumping and adjournments and walk outs. Can we not think about a way of protest without disruptions, because this has bred a dangerous repercussion in that there will be no action taken unless there are disruptions!!! This has percolated to all levels of management and workers, teachers and students, service providers and consumers.

When are we going to wake up and change the way our Parliament Members behave ????