Debate laws before passing them, says President

Jaipur: President Pranab Mukherjee asked legislators to improve the quality of debates in legislatures, saying India cannot remain a role model to the world simply because of the size of its electorate.

He said that legislations passed without adequate discussion and scrutiny will not achieve their target. “Legislation is the first and foremost responsibility of a parliamentarian. It is most unfortunate that time devoted towards legislation has been gradually declining in our Parliament,” the President said while delivering the first Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Memorial Lecture in memory of the former chief minister.

He said every issue should be debated and members may express their disagreements but finally a decision has to be taken by the House.

“Once the decision is there, it’s not the decision of the majority party or the ruling party, it's the decision of the House and so the decision of the state or the decision of India,” the President said, adding that this is the tradition of the parliamentary democracy.

He also conferred the Bhairo Singh Shekhawat lifetime achievement award to Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling for his contribution to the society.

He also expressed disappointment at constantly reduced sittings of Parliament and number of legislations passed by it, saying legislations passed without adequate discussion and scrutiny will not achieve their target.

The President said that the first Lok Sabha from 1952-57 had 677 sittings in which 319 bills were passed. In comparison, the 14th Lok Sabha from 2004-2009 had 332 sittings and passed just 247 bills.

The 15th Lok Sabha had 357 sittings and passed 181 bills while the 16th Lok Sabha has had 197 sittings and passed only 111 bills (up to the 10th session).

Emphasising on the need to spend proper discussion on legislations, the President also cited figures of time lost due to interruptions/adjournments from the 10th Lok Sabha (1991-96) onwards.

“With the heightened complexity of administration, legislation must be preceded by adequate discussion and scrutiny. If not, it will fail to deliver the desired results or meet its objectives,” he said while asking political parties to collectively think about ensuring smooth running of Parliament and state Assemblies.

The President also asked legislators to be sensitive and responsive to the problems and concerns of the people at all times and must give voice to the grievances of the public by raising them on the floor of the Legislature and act as the link between the people and the Government. “The job of a legislator is a 24x7 responsibility,” he said.

According to the president, the Constitution of India places our Parliament and Assemblies at the centre of governance and conceives them as the primary instrument of good governance and socio-economic change. “I have expounded in such great detail the history of representative Government for a specific purpose.  It is to underline the fact that if prominent legislators of pre-independence days with limited powers, could have done so much, how much more can be done by our MPs, MLAs and MLCs of today.”

However, he said that despite the successful working of our parliamentary democracy, many people still live under conditions of poverty, deprivation and illiteracy. Democracy should provide for an enabling environment which helps every section of the society to fully participate in the process of governance.