The country we live in is a democratic country. Regarding democracy Abraham Lincoln has said-“democracy is a government by the people, of the people, and for the people.” The concept of parliament in India somewhat refers to the British system of governance which actually is a system of representative governance. Talking about Indian parliament, the basic framework of the parliament that comes to the fore-front is the bi-cameral nature of the parliament. In India also the parliament is also based on the system of representative democracy. This system of representative democracy has endured in the country for a decade and more than that. Parliamentary rule in our system is a supreme representation of the people and in that respect the public response about every move of the parliament is important.
The founding fathers have laid a representative democracy. Such a system requires a superior representation from the part of the legislators. But a recent look at the parliamentary figures gives us a completely a different scenario which completely defeats the goal of parliamentary democracy. Since the first Lok Sabha, the number of days for conducting the business of the parliament has decreased. Even when they meet, little job is being done. In the face of dissonance of opinions and counter opinions the house has to be adjourned. From about 48% of total time of Government this time has come down to 13%. If such a Parliament conducts the business it is of no need to have such a parliament.
So the relevance of the parliamentary can be explained in context of various accountability. Parliament is a successful institution. It is in the parliamentary that most of the assurances are made. According to ministry of Parliamentary Affairs most of the assurances made on the floor are kept. For the period from 2000-2002 the percentage of implemented by the Lok Sabha is 83.4% and that by Rajya Sabha is 80.0%. Of course the ‘sanctity’ of assurances given on the floor of the house is not all there is to the concept of parliamentary accountability, but not does suggest that parliamentary talk is not at all idle. Regarding the legislation accountability, the Parliament has some important role to play. The parliament is the guardian of the law and the laws are passed by the parliament only after bills are discussed in details. The parliament provides enough space for discussing the bills. In the Indian system of parliament we have zero hour for questioning. Here starred and unstarred questions are asked and after getting the majority votes a bill can become an act, otherwise it is referred to the standing committees. India’s first 13 parliaments passed more than 3,200 bills. Regarding financial accountability, MPLADS are important. MPLADS were introduced in December in 1993 and help the MPs to start their own projects. Other than that the committees can examine the budgetary grants of various committees. Another major function of the parliament is that of Budget. It is only the medium through which the parliament empowers the Legislature to spend money. So on the context of the financial and legislative functions, the Parliament has enough relevance in Indian context.
The founding fathers have laid a representative democracy. Such a system requires a superior representation from the part of the legislators. But a recent look at the parliamentary figures gives us a completely a different scenario which completely defeats the goal of parliamentary democracy. Since the first Lok Sabha, the number of days for conducting the business of the parliament has decreased. Even when they meet, little job is being done. In the face of dissonance of opinions and counter opinions the house has to be adjourned. From about 48% of total time of Government this time has come down to 13%. If such a Parliament conducts the business it is of no need to have such a parliament.
So the relevance of the parliamentary can be explained in context of various accountability. Parliament is a successful institution. It is in the parliamentary that most of the assurances are made. According to ministry of Parliamentary Affairs most of the assurances made on the floor are kept. For the period from 2000-2002 the percentage of implemented by the Lok Sabha is 83.4% and that by Rajya Sabha is 80.0%. Of course the ‘sanctity’ of assurances given on the floor of the house is not all there is to the concept of parliamentary accountability, but not does suggest that parliamentary talk is not at all idle. Regarding the legislation accountability, the Parliament has some important role to play. The parliament is the guardian of the law and the laws are passed by the parliament only after bills are discussed in details. The parliament provides enough space for discussing the bills. In the Indian system of parliament we have zero hour for questioning. Here starred and unstarred questions are asked and after getting the majority votes a bill can become an act, otherwise it is referred to the standing committees. India’s first 13 parliaments passed more than 3,200 bills. Regarding financial accountability, MPLADS are important. MPLADS were introduced in December in 1993 and help the MPs to start their own projects. Other than that the committees can examine the budgetary grants of various committees. Another major function of the parliament is that of Budget. It is only the medium through which the parliament empowers the Legislature to spend money. So on the context of the financial and legislative functions, the Parliament has enough relevance in Indian context.
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