The five state assemblies going to the polls in November have performed poorly on a key indicator -- time spent on discussions before passing bills.
A study says that members of these assemblies -- Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram -- passed half of the bills without any discussions. Moreover, these states preferred issuing ordinances despite assembly sessions being in session.
The study by New Delhi based non-profit research organisation PRS Legislative Research also notes that the number and duration of assembly sittings in these states is very low.
These assemblies met on average for less than 30 days in a year out of around 100 days of sessions. This ranged from 29 days in a year in Rajasthan to 15 days in Telangana. In 2020, Madhya Pradesh held only six sittings.
Around half of the bills were passed by these assemblies within a day of their introduction, i.e., on the same day or the day after. Bizarrely, Mizoram passed 57 bills during its current term, all on the same day or the day after introduction.
During its term, the Madhya Pradesh assembly issued 39 ordinances, followed by Telangana (14) and Rajasthan (13). States may issue ordinances when the assemblies are not in session. However, in MP, in 2020, 11 ordinances were issued, while the assembly met for only six days. Of these, six lapsed without being replaced by bills.