NEW DELHI:A citizens’ poll on the disruptions in Parliament has disclosed people’s unhappiness about the legislative business not being transacted.About 95 per cent of the people who participated in the online poll conducted by LocalCircles expressed worry at frequent disruptions in Parliament.
People want the Prime Minister to spend more time in the House as they feel his increased presence will help in more effective functioning of the House. There are 68 pending Bills in the Lok Sabha and 40 in the Rajya Sabha, apart from six ordinances that need to be addressed during the 18 working days of monsoon session.
The first question asked in the poll was if the nation can afford frequent disruptions/ adjournments? While 89 per cent people answered in the negative, 8 per cent said disruptions were okay.Question Hour, Zero Hour and Special Mention window (Rules 377 and 180A-E) in Parliament are times when anyone can raise issues of public importance.
Asked if the Speaker should ensure that the above is adhered to by all means, 92 per cent respondents agreed and 4 per cent disagreed.Last week, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had sent a letter to all MPs asking them to allow discussions and not disrupt the proceedings.
Due to the face-off between the government and Opposition, hardly any legislative business was conducted during the last two sessions which ended up as washouts.Citizens also came out with several suggestions to make sure that Parliament functions properly this time. These included MPs taking pay cut if Parliament is disrupted, minimum work being assigned for each day of the session, and Opposition being given a set time to put forward their views, among others.
