Amid repeated adjournments in Parliament, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Sunday said parliamentarians should seriously introspect whether disruption is at all a "legitimate tactic", asserting that it should only be used in an "extreme situation" and not become the norm.
He, however, said it is the responsibility of the government to run the House, and putting the blame for frequent adjournments on the Congress is both "unfortunate and opportunistic", as the BJP and its allies had stalled Parliament during their time as the opposition during 2004-14.
In an interview with PTI, Manish Tewari suggested that as a norm after the government business is over at 6 pm, a discussion should be allowed under rule 193 in Lok Sabha on any subject collectively decided by the Opposition.
"I had even suggested in an informal conversation with the Speaker (Om Birla) that as a norm after the government business is over at 6 pm, a discussion under rule 193 on any subject, collectively suggested by the Opposition, should be taken up every working day of Parliament between 6 pm and 9 pm," he said.
Similarly, a discussion could take place in Rajya Sabha under the concurrent rule, Manish Tewari added.
This will ensure that the government business functions in an uninterrupted manner and the Opposition is also able to articulate its concerns on the matters before the country, the Congress MP said, adding that unfortunately, it seems the treasury benches are not too enthusiastic and would rather just "railroad" their own business than allowing the Opposition's concerns be discussed as well.
On disruption rather than debate becoming the norm in Parliament with the first week of the Monsoon session nearly washed out, Manish Tewari said, "Parliament as an institution and legislative assemblies collectively have unfortunately become irrelevant to the national discourse of the country now going back a couple of decades." This is primarily because parliamentarians and legislators across parties, across decades and across the country have systematically devalued the institution, he said.
"What would you think of an institution where disruption is the norm and functioning is the exception? What would you think of the Supreme Court if lawyers were to disrupt its functioning on a regular basis? What would you think of the executive if the secretaries, joint secretaries or other officials go on a disruptive spree on a regular and prolonged basis," Manish Tewari asked.
So, parliamentarians and legislators should seriously introspect whether disruption is at all a "legitimate parliamentary tactic", the Congress MP said.
"It (tactic of disruption) has to be used, it should be done tactically in an extreme situation but should definitely not become the norm," Manish Tewari said.
Having said that, it is the responsibility of the government to run the House, he added.
Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have failed to transact any significant business so far since the Monsoon session began on July 18 with the Opposition insisting on a debate on price rise and GST on essential items of daily use.
On the Opposition led by the Congress protesting and disrupting House proceedings and seeking discussions on various issues, Manish Tewari said one must rewind back to 2004-14, when the BJP and its allies were in the opposition, they wiped out session after session and did not allow Parliament to function on one pretext or another.
"So to lay the blame at the door of the Congress, I think is both unfortunate and opportunistic. The larger more fundamental question is about the parliamentary culture that has deteriorated or rather has been vitiated and allowed to subvert the legislative institutions over the decades," the MP from Punjab's Anandpur Sahib said.
Therefore, the stakeholders in India's parliamentary process – political parties and Members of Parliament – together should find a modus vivendi on how this institution can regain the purpose for which it was established by the framers of the Constitution and can regain its pristine glory.
On the Opposition charge that the government is not allowing discussions on key people's issues like price rise and GST on essential food items, Manish Tewari said this is not the first time that a government has large majorities in Parliament. In fact, out of the 17 Lok Sabhas, the governments in 10 enjoyed an overwhelming majority.
However, right up till the late 1980s, even though there was a small opposition, it was invariably also aided and abetted by the conscientious members of the treasury benches who collectively would hold the government to account, he pointed out.
"The 10th Schedule has taken conscience, common sense and constituency imperatives out of the legislative proceeding," Manish Tewari argued.
"It has completely failed in its primary objective to check defections but it has taken the soul of democracy out of the apex democratic institutions of the country. Therefore, there is a need to revisit the 10th Schedule in order to restore democracy in Parliament," he said.
Over and above, what is worrying is that the government not only tries to "squelch" the voice of the opposition but more importantly even the proceedings of Parliament are shown in a "skewed and censored" manner, Manish Tewari alleged.
Asked about the 'unparliamentary words' controversy and the circular over not allowing protests in the precincts of Parliament, he said the "crisis in India's legislative institutions" goes beyond unparliamentary words and any kind of prohibition of protest within the precincts of Parliament.
What these two moves were symptomatic of was a growing tendency to further "emasculate" what little is left of the supreme legislative institution, he said.
Asked about the Opposition unity being in shambles with TMC chief Mamata Banerjee announcing that her party would not support joint vice presidential candidate Margaret Alva in the polls, Manish Tewari said the decision does have implications for the 2024 general elections.
"The opposition should be cognizant of the gravity of the challenge that it confronts, and it needs to put aside both egos and perceptions of political turfs and really focus on 2024 in an extremely serious manner," he said.
