Democracy is based on the principle of representation. The role of an elected representative is to represent the needs and grievances of the people of their constituency in particular and the nation in general.
However, in recent times, this role has been affected and is consistently declining for various reasons
- Anti-defection Law which puts restrictions on the right of free speech of the legislators wherein they are expected to mandatorily follow party directions.
- Strengthening the office of Whip led to a decline in the role of individual representatives.
- The overall decline in the quality of representatives due to the Criminalization of politics and the increase in money power.
- The decline in a parliamentary sitting which has reduced from 120 days/year to 65-70 days/year
- An unhindered rise in competitive electoral politics also led to the politicization of every issue thereby affecting objective deliberations
The decline in their quality of functioning has certainly impacted the outcome of parliamentary democracy in various ways:
- Passage of bills and budgets without due diligence and debate. For example, the time spent on discussing the Budget has reduced from an average of 123 hours in the 1950s to 39 hours in the last decade.
- Lack of accountability of the government. In the 16th Lok Sabha, question hour has functioned in Lok Sabha for 77% of the scheduled time, while in Rajya Sabha it has functioned for 47%. Time lost indicates a lost opportunity to hold the government accountable for its actions
- The number and quality of private member’s bill has also drastically declined
- It has resulted in High costs to the public exchequer in the form of wasting taxpayer money
- It has led to delays in policymaking, leading to rising of unconstitutional bodies to fill the legislative gap
- There is declining faith in the Democratic process
- It has resulted in increased Judicial Intervention
- The tendency of increased recourse to guillotine motion to pass the bills without discussing important provisions Passage of bills without referring to parliamentary standing committees
Measures to improve the quality of the role played by elected representatives
- Parliament (Enhancement of Productivity) Bill, 2017 should be taken up which seeks to fix the minimum number of days at 100 days for Rajya Sabha. This was recommended by the National Commission for review of the working of the constitution too.
- Rules can be altered to provide a greater role for opposition in deciding the agenda of the house
- Stricter Rules of Procedure and conduct of business to deal with the unruly behavior
- Reviewing the Anti-Defection Law and confining it to major issues like no-confidence motions and budget as recommended by the Dinesh Goswami committee.
- Involvement of opposition in deciding the agenda of the house and greater time for them in discussions on the floor of the house.
- Electoral reforms to reduce the entry of people with criminal backgrounds into politics Conclusion Hence, there is a need to implement the above constructive suggestions, to increase the role of Parliamentarians and make the Government more accountable
Hence, there is a need to implement the above constructive suggestions, to increase the role of Parliamentarians and make the Government more accountable.