“Minister slapped”, “Shoes to the budget”, “MLA sued for physical assault to finance minister” etc. are the kind of headlines we come across the next day whenever there is some important debate in the house of parliament. Why does a bill take 14 years to be passed? Why is it so that no budget is whole-heartedly accepted by the opposition? Is it the flaw of the very nature of a democracy or is it ingrained into the behaviour of our MLAs to create fuss about each puny proceeding in the parliament house.
It is necessary to be mentioned here that one second of the parliament time costs Rs 25000 of the taxpayer’s money and hence the whole day would cost Rs 1.2 lakh. Such an enormous wastage cannot be pardoned! Parliamentary debates nowadays are always intervened by one or the other irrelevant points by opposition. Sessions are highly unproductive and no fruitful discussion takes place owing to narrow mindsets of members who are adamant on their points and do not even lend their ears to what others want to convey. Issue is not just the wastage of time or money but also the manner in which the proceedings are conducted. Speaker is seen speaking the least and none of the members follow the formal code of conduct. Walk outs have become a routine and ministers degrade themselves to a level that attacking each other physically seems the only way to prove one’s point!
Opposition has its own importance as it gives a chance to the house to discuss pros and cons of the subject well before a decision could be made. However it is also their responsibility to respect others views and accept them when it is for the benefit of the nation. Politicians nowadays give priority to votes (within the parliament) than to public welfare. Their behaviour is guided by only motive of retaining their seat in parliament house rather than thinking of benefiting the nation. Chair has become a means to acquire corrupted wealth instead of an opportunity to serve the nation. And this is the primary reason why everyone today refers to politics as dirty!
The writer is a Youth Ki Awaaz reporter. A student of Delhi University, she has recently completed her first year in B. Com (H) from SRCC.