Context: Recently concluded winter session of the Parliament saw a lot of disruptions. In this context, let us discuss the features of parliamentary form of government, importance of Parliamentary productivity, and reasons for decline of Parliament and the way ahead.
Relevance of the Topic: Mains: Declining Productivity of Parliament (Trends, Outcomes and Way Forward).
Constitutional Provisions
- Article 74 and 75:
- Article 74: There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.
- Article 75: Other provisions as to the Minister.
- Article 163 and 164:
- Article 163: Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Governor.
- Article 164: Other provisions as to Ministers.
Features of Parliamentary form of Government
- President is the Nominal Executive: President is the nominal head of state, while Prime Minister is the real executive i.e. head of government. (Article 74 states that there shall be a Council of Ministers headed by the PM to aid and advise the President.)
- Majority Party rule: Political party with majority on the floor form the government.
- Collective Responsibility: Ministers are collectively responsible to Lok Sabha (Art 75)
- Political Homogeneity of Council of Ministers: Mostly, Council of Ministers belongs to the same political party with similar ideology.
- Double Membership: Ministers are part of both legislature and executive.
- Dissolution of Lower House: It can be dissolved on the recommendations of the PM.
- Secrecy: Ministers operate on the principle of secrecy of procedure and cannot divulge any information about their proceedings policies and decisions. Oath of secrecy to the ministers is administered by the President/Governor of State.
Significance of Parliamentary Productivity:
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in the country responsible for enacting laws and overseeing the functioning of the government. The roles of Parliament in India include:
- Law Making: The primary function of Parliament is to make laws. Bills are introduced in either house of Parliament, debated and discussed, and finally passed as Acts of Parliament.
- Scrutiny of Government: Parliament has the power to hold the government accountable by asking questions, seeking clarifications, and conducting debates on government policies and actions.
- Budgetary Control: Parliament has the power to approve or reject the government's budget proposals and to scrutinize government spending.
- Oversight of Executive: Parliament has the power to investigate and examine the functioning of the executive branch of the government and its various agencies.
- Electoral Functions: Parliament has the power to decide on the qualifications and disqualifications of members, conduct elections to fill vacancies, and determine the electoral boundaries.
- Constitutional Functions: Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution, approve the proclamation of emergency, and to impeach the President, Vice-President, and other high officials.
Parliament in India is essential for maintaining the democratic system of the country and ensuring that the government is accountable to the people.
Indicators of Declining Productivity of Parliament
- Number of Bills Passed: As per the PRS Legislative Research, the number of bills passed by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's parliament) has declined in recent years.
| 15th Lok Sabha (2009-2014) | 248 Bills passed |
| 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019) | 205 Bills passed |
| 17th Lok Sabha (2019-2024) | 131 Bills passed |
- Question Hour: An important aspect of parliamentary productivity is the ability of MPs to ask questions of the government during Question Hour. However, Question Hour has been disrupted in recent years, with MPs often protesting and preventing the House from functioning.
- According to IndiaSpend, 16th Lok Sabha lost 29% of its scheduled time due to disruptions, while the current 17th Lok Sabha has lost 48% of its scheduled time so far.
- Private Members' Bills: Private Members' Bills are bills introduced by MPs who are not part of the government. The number of Private Members' Bills being introduced and passed in parliament has declined in recent years. Till date, only 14 Private Members' Bills have been passed and received assent.
- Reduced Number of Sittings: The 17th Lok Sabha has only functioned for 230 sitting days so far. With only 1 year left, it will likely be the least productive Lok Sabha till date.
- Lack of Discipline and Decorum: Lack of opportunity to present their views and unresponsive attitude of the government further fuels the indiscipline in MPs.
- Declining quality of Parliamentary Debates: Parliamentarians generally tow the party line and argue on rhetoric rather than facts and substantial reports. It leads to lack of quality debates in parliament and frequent disruptions.
- Legislation through Ordinances: Government is increasingly relying on the ordinance route rather than introduction of bills for crucial issues, this has further subverted the Parliament. E.g., Ordinance to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act, 1991.
Reasons for the Decline:
- Increased Polarisation: Increased polarisation and confrontational politics is leading to frequent disruptions in the House. MPs often engage in protests, sloganeering, and walkouts, which prevent the smooth functioning of parliament. This has resulted in the loss of valuable time and resources, hindering the legislative process.
- Lack of Adequate Preparation and deliberation before introducing bills in Parliament. The government often rushes to pass bills without thorough discussions, leading to poorly drafted legislation, inadequate scrutiny and oversight.
- Committee System: Committees play a crucial role in scrutinizing bills, conducting in-depth research, and engaging in consultations with stakeholders, which help in drafting effective legislation. Absence of a robust committee system leads to either bypassing of committees or inadequate scrutiny of bills.
- Lack of Diversity: Indian parliament lacks diversity, with a significant underrepresentation of marginalised groups, including women and religious minorities. This has resulted in the exclusion of diverse voices and perspectives, leading to the passing of legislation that does not reflect the needs and aspirations of all sections of society.
- Declining role of Rajya Sabha: Many ordinary bills are introduced and passed as money bills so as to evade the scrutiny of Rajya Sabha. E.g., Aadhar Bill.
- Increased Expulsion: Increased expulsion of members of opposition on grounds of being unruly.
- Decline in Parliamentary Standards: Reduced expectations from the public coupled with declining parliamentary standards.
Outcomes of Parliamentary Decline
- Performance Decline: Decline in the productivity of Parliament impairs its ability to effectively perform the duties that have been entrusted to it by the Constitution".
- Impairs basic legislative function: MPs are not able to ask ministers tough questions during question hour to assess the work that their ministries are doing. With disruptions eating into the time available for parliamentary business, adequate time is not available for debating legislation.
- Bills passed without Debate: As a result, bills either get passed without effective debate or remain pending in Parliament. With Parliament meeting for a fewer number of days and with its productivity falling on account of disruptions, MPs are not able to raise matters of urgent public importance and bring it to the attention of the government.
- Reduced Scrutiny: When Parliament does not function, laws needed to address challenges in governance are not legislated, the government gets away with minimal scrutiny over its functioning, and MPs lose out on the opportunity to represent the interests of their constituents.
- Loss of Faith: Decline of parliament leads to loss of faith in the institution of Parliament and its role in upholding Indian democracy.
Way Forward
- British Convention: In the British Parliament, there are certain days in a week in each Parliamentary session where the opposition parties are allowed to determine the agenda for the day’s discussion. (20 days a year.)
- Increased Frequency: Parliament should meet more frequently. In the 1950s, Parliament met for 120-140 days every year; now it ranges between 60 and 70 days.
- Longer sitting hours: The House of Commons sits for about 150 days in a year with an average sitting lasting for seven and a half hours. Currently our Parliament meets for an average of 70 days in a year and the rules provide that Lok Sabha would meet for 6 hours and Rajya Sabha for 5 hours.
- Parliamentary Schedule is decided by the government, which can postpone or curtail a session if faced with uncomfortable issues. It can be fixed in two ways.
- First, a calendar of sittings should be announced at the beginning of each year for limited flexibility.
- Second, the rules should be amended to ensure that the House is summoned if a significant minority (say 25% or 33%) of members gives a written notice.
- In the UK, the PM is bound by a constitutional convention to respond to questions directly posed to him by MPs. It is not so in India.
- Technology: Parliament should leverage technology such as using electronic voting systems, enabling remote attendance for members, and enhancing digital communication channels. This would enable parliament to function more efficiently, reduce disruptions, and save time and resources.
- Capacity Building: There should be a focus on capacity-building and training for parliamentarians, particularly in areas such as legislative drafting, public speaking, and committee work. This would enable MPs to be more effective in their roles, contributing to better legislative outcomes and increased productivity.
- Introducing Parliament Productivity Index (PPI) that measures both the productivity of a session of Parliament and identifies five most disruptive MPs on the basis of clearly defined parameters.
- Establishing Parliamentary Reforms Commission: Experts like Subhash C Kashyap have suggested the establishment of a parliamentary reforms commission to improve the efficiency of parliamentary procedures and practices.