As our politicians gear up for Parliament’s Winter Session that begins Thursday, we must remember that the performance of the 15th Lok Sabha in terms of time spent debating issues of national importance, as well as clearing legislation, has been distinctly not bright. The number of days Parliament has sat has also come down by almost half, compared to the first two decades of the republic.
Much of this regrettable state of affairs can be traced to extreme political contentiousness and the debilitating fragmentation of our polity. It is no exaggeration to say that even on days Parliament met, not much business was permitted to be transacted. Session after session was literally washed away in slogan-shouting on the floor of both Houses over procedural issues relating to the investigation of the 2G spectrum and coal allocation scams, and the Lokpal Bill.
Suspicion lingered that a concerted effort was being made to thwart the ruling side from clearing measures that might bring it political credit, although the food security law was cleared after some jousting as no party wished to be seen as obstructionist on such a measure.
Given a record like, it is hard to expect too much to come out of the Winter Session which, effectively speaking, will be the last real session where legislative action can be attempted, for the Budget Session early next year would be largely devoted to permitting appropriations for the running of essential aspects of the government before the next government takes charge after the Lok Sabha elections.
No matter what the verdict for the recently-held polls for five state Assemblies, the political temperature is likely to run high in Parliament. If the BJP performs above par, it is likely to go all out to embarrass the government on political grounds instead of letting it attend to legislative work. In the opposite scenario too, the main Opposition party is likely to want to thwart any sense of success the government side may seek to squeeze out in the dying days of the present House.
Some 38 bills are said to be ready for passage, and there has been hype around a few, such as the Women’s Reservation Bill (hanging fire for years), the Lokpal Bill and the Communal Violence Bill. It will indeed be surprising if any of this is permitted to go through. The government understands this, but is likely to be satisfied with the mere projection of such issues in order to woo the electorate. The introduction of the bill on Telangana statehood also appears unlikely if it does not suit the government at this stage. This Parliament has suffered from the government or the Opposition choosing short-term politics over a long-term vision.
