The second part of the Budget Session of Parliament begins in a few days (March 10). The first part of the Session, last month, faced significant setbacks, marked by legislative inertia, procedural neglect, and a weakening of institutional norms - trends that should concern every citizen. The upcoming phase of the Session is set to have deliberations on ‘Demands for Grants'. Simply explained, these are formal requests from various government ministries of the Union, seeking funds from the Consolidated Fund of India. This apart, the parliamentary bulletin published by the Rajya Sabha confirms that discussions will be held on four ministries: Home Affairs, Education, Railways, Health, and Family Welfare. This columnist will be pleasantly surprised if all four ministries are discussed. Many parties in opposition have conveyed their preference to take up the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Home Ministry before any other.
Another issue that is bound to play out on the floor of Parliament is the Election Commission of India's (EC) alleged involvement in voter ID duplication. This is not a minor clerical error, it is a serious matter having a bearing on free and fair elections. Since Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number is linked to voter details, a duplicate EPIC number will lead to denial of voting rights. The EC handbook clearly states that EPIC numbers are supposed to be unique and consist of an alphanumeric sequence, with the first three letters being specific to an assembly constituency. It is impossible for voters in two different assembly constituencies (even in the same state) to have the same first three letters on their EPIC. Voters in different states have been found to have the same EPIC numbers. The EC needs to start by disclosing how many duplicate EPICs exist within the system and how they got assigned. Why is the EC still unable to ensure unique EPIC numbers for every voter?
Worst In 75 Years
The essence of Parliament lies in its ability to legislate effectively. Yet, the 18th Lok Sabha has set a dubious record. In its first three sessions, both Houses combined have passed just four bills - the lowest in history. The only non-budgetary bill that passed was the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024, which repealed the Aircraft Act of 1934 (incidentally, your columnist had advocated for this earlier).
When compared to the first three Sessions of Parliament since 1950, this has been the lowest number of bills passed by both Houses in the history of Parliament. Unbelievable.
The Lok Sabha also passed the Supplementary Demand for Grants (SDGs), for which a discussion was not held in the Rajya Sabha even though five hours had been allocated for the debate. Thus, ₹45,000 crore of additional public money was spent without even seeking suggestions from the Council of States.
Misses Of The Budget
When the Session resumes in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, here are some questions that are bound to be asked of the Union government:
i. Why did the Ministry of Minority Affairs utilise just 5% of its budget estimate in 2023-24?
ii. Why were funds for LPG connections to economically challenged households slashed by 30%?
iii. Why did the PM-Kisan scheme receive no funding over Revised Estimates (RE)? This, despite the Parliamentary Standing Committee recommending an increase of support to farmers from Rs 6000 to Rs 12,000 per annum.
iv. Why did the PM Internship Scheme utilise only 20% of its funds, even after the scheme received 500% more than what was allocated over RE? Why have only less than 5% of candidates been placed under this scheme?
v. 2024 has come and gone. When would India achieve the target of $5 trillion? 2035? 2036? 2037? Time for a reality check.
Suppression Of Dissent
The blatant disregard for parliamentary norms and procedures was on full (sic) display when the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf was laid this Session. Portions of dissent notes from opposition MPs had whitener, yes, whitener, slathered over sentences to delete them. When will this government understand that Parliamentary Committees are set up to listen to alternate views, foster bipartisan deliberation, improve legislative content and finally, present a document with views from across the board.
Who Cares About Parliament
The absence of a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha is another example of procedural neglect and a contempt for parliamentary precedents. Article 93 of the Constitution mandates the election of a Deputy Speaker "as soon as may be". This constitutional position remained vacant the entire tenure (2019-2024) of the 17th Lok Sabha. Two hundred and fifty days into the 18th Lok Sabha, there is still no Deputy Speaker. New Session, same old habits. Mr. Narendra Modi, Sir: Who Cares About Parliament?
(Research Credit: Chahat Mangtani, Dheemunt Jain)
(Derek O'Brien, MP, leads the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
