Monsoon Session of Parliament: Great expectations

Much is expected of Parliament's Monsoon Session that starts on July 18, especially after a cycle of disruptions in the past sittings stalled passage of laws crucial to India's present and future. The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Opposition, under Congress president Rahul Gandhi, blamed each other for a washed-out Budget Session held from January 29 to April 6. Nearly 250 working hours, out of 372 available, were lost.

The Session was supposed to take up at least 28 Bills in the Lok Sabha and 39 in the Rajya Sabha, in 31 sittings (eight in the first part and 23 in the second) spread over 68 days. But the Lower House could pass only five, and the Upper House just one. The productivity for the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha was only 23 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively. In the last leg, the Lok Sabha's productivity dropped to just 4 per cent, amid the Opposition's persistent demands for a no-confidence motion against the government.

The Confrontation

The 16th Lok Sabha had begun on a promising note in June 2014, when PM Modi, in his maiden Parliament speech after sweeping to power, talked about his resolve to take the Opposition along in decision making. "We can bring about change. I don't want to move forward without you. I don't have to move forward on the basis of numbers but on the basis of collective decision making. If necessary, we will move forward with your guidance," he had said.

Parliament did function smoothly in the first three Sessions, clocking 100 per cent productivity, but the situation started deteriorating from the Monsoon Session in 2015. [In a year, Parliament normally has three Sessions: Budget (February-May), Monsoon (July-August/September) and Winter (November-December)]. Congress learnt from BJP's agitations against scams in coal and other resource
allocations during the UPA-II government.

It halted Parliament, demanding the resignation of Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for their alleged help to IPL's tainted former chief Lalit Modi in his attempts to procure British travel documents. The main Opposition party also sought the scalp of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, another BJP CM, over a multi-crore admission and recruitment scam known as Vyapam in Madhya Pradesh.

The productivity in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha dropped by 52 per cent and 91 per cent, respectively. The situation came to such a pass that Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had to take an unprecedented decision to suspend 25 Congress MPs for five days.

Parliament has not run optimally barring the exceptions of the Budget and Monsoon Sessions of 2016 and the Budget session of 2017. Four years after the PM's speech, both the government and the Opposition have failed to ensure that Parliament serves its purpose.

Cause for Concern

Disruptions, adjournments and delays to proceedings have been a feature of parliamentary business in India. But the number of actual sittings of both Houses has also gone down drastically over the years, impacting Parliament's function to frame robust policies and laws, aid in better governance and hold the government to account.

Data shows Parliament has been progressively allocating fewer days to meet. It has been meeting even less on those days — marked more by pandemonium and acrimonious scenes than real discussion. The governments have been trying to make up for the lost time by pushing through legislation faster without much deliberation, raising concerns over the efficacy of Parliament in the world's largest democracy.

Storm Ahead

The 16th Lok Sabha's tenure has entered its fifth and final year. The coming 18-day Session is likely to be as or more disrupted. It will be followed by the Winter Session before the country chooses its next government in April/May. If elections are held as per the schedule, the Budget Session will be curtailed, anyway. If elections are advanced, the coming Session will be the last full one.

The government is desperate to push its agenda to embellish its report card before it goes back to the people. The Opposition is in no mood to relent in its protests over a host of issues to discredit the government. Congress is looking to raise multiple issues, including India's agrarian crisis, scams, unemployment and the state of the economy. The Opposition is also preparing to bring a fresh no-confidence motion against the government.

The government says it will not shy from debate on any issue. But disruptions are bound to take place because it does not want to get into a debate with voting rules, and face embarrassment. BJP's majority in the Lok Sabha has reduced. Its biggest ally, Shiv Sena, has criticised Modi severely and announced it would not be with BJP in 2019. In Rajya Sabha the odds are already in favour of the opposition.

Current Challenge

The upcoming Session that ends on August 10 has an uphill task to pass 28 Bills in the Lok Sabha and 30 in the Rajya Sabha. In January, the Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill-2017 that proposes to make instant triple talaq a non-bailable offence with a three-year jail term for guilty husbands. The Bill got stuck in the Rajya Sabha. It has not been passed despite frequent requests made to parties by PM Modi. Congress has protested abrupt penal provisions for a customary practice that was legal till August last year when the Supreme Court ruled it as unconstitutional. The legislation is on top of the government's agenda.

Another key piece of legislation stuck in the Rajya Sabha is the National Commission for Backward Classes (Repeal) Bill, 2017. It has also not been passed despite being a top priority of the Prime Minister. The Bill seeks to grant constitutional status to the OBC Commission. Once the Bill is passed, the Commission will become as powerful as the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill may also be taken up. The Supreme Court has asked the Central government to share, by July 17, a timeline on the much-delayed appointment of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal. The Centre wants to amend the law passed by the UPA government before BJP came to power in 2014. The Rajya Sabha's Deputy Chairperson has to be elected as well. PJ Kurien's term ends at the end of this month.

Education is also a key area. The government decided last month to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC) with another apex higher education regulator that will focus solely on academic matters with powers to enforce quality standards. A Bill is likely to be introduced this session.

There are six Ordinances, too, waiting for Parliament's nod. For example, in May, President Ram Nath Kovind promulgated the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance-2018 to provide stringent punishment, including the death penalty, to those convicted of rape of children below 12. This was in response to days of unspeakable brutalities against kids and subsequent outrage across states. Governments promulgate Ordinances either to bypass debates or when Parliament is not in Session. All such pieces of legislation are deemed lapsed if not passed by both Houses within six months.

Seeking Peace

Speaker Mahajan has appealed to MPs to introspect and give up disruptive behaviour, saying it is their moral duty to protect the prestige and sanctity of the sacred temple of democracy and meet great expectations of the people. Time is limited but several works are unfinished, she said in a two-page letter released to media on Tuesday.

"Divergence of opinion and dissent should be within the parameters and norms of Parliamentary dignity so that people continue to have abiding faith in democracy and democratic institutions," she said. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has convened an all-party meet on July 17 to seek support from the Opposition. The PM will also attend it. But disruptions are bound to happen because the Opposition parties, especially Congress, do not want to miss cornering the government through debates under rules with voting rights.