Parliamentary democracy: A glorified idea for drum-beaters
Photo credit Twitter Mallikarjuna Kharge
News Analysis
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, July 29: For two weeks, Parliament hasn’t functioned, while discourse in the last two days has shown excessive sensitivity over treasury anger against Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s ‘Rashtrapatni’ blunder.
After the Opposition disrupted the functioning of both the Houses of Parliament till Wednesday, the treasury benches too joined the party to force a washout of the last two days.
Both the Opposition and the ruling Bharataiya Janata Party seem believing that the Monsoon session of Parliament is meant to be washed out.
Actions in the two Houses of Parliament demonstrate that the treasury and Opposition benches are playing to the galleries. They just want to catch the eyeballs.
Television loves actions. Serious debate and discussions are yawning stuff for the televisions.
People too are addicted with entertainment. They want entertainment 24X7. More the better, and entertainment that shocks people to push their adrenaline rushing the veins. There should be thrills.
India is in the midst of T20 viewership. This is an era of craving for instant gratification.
Who will listen to a 30-minute speech of an MP in either House of the Parliament?
Indeed, Finance Minister is making record each year in delivering longest Budget speeches. She isn’t aware that other than business television no one watches her speeches.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu still believes that the Parliament is meant for debate and discourse.
So, he called a meeting of the leader of the Rajya Sabha, Union Ministers, and the Opposition leaders. They all agreed to taper off the pandemonium, and take up the price rise discussion next week.
But who wants to listen to discussions in times of fish-market entertainment?
Each person is more knowledgeable than others. This helps that the US-based tech giants to mint dollars from India by running their social media platforms.
Knowledgeable people are in the business of speaking.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is already a popular leader.
The ruling BJP has over 300 MPs in the Lok Sabha, while the party’s number is rising in the Rajya Sabha, as flood waters flow into its lowland.
The Parliamentary secretary of the BJP is religiously issuing whips.
The legislative bills have to be given the Parliamentary stamps, and they are getting it in quick time. Pandemonium or no pandemonium, Bills become Acts; judiciary and sometimes bureaucracy spots errors, and they are again rectified in quick time.
The treasury benches MPs are already happy reading out their one-minute Zero Hour statement in both the Houses of Parliament.
Parliamentary democracy can remain a glorified idea for drum-beaters.
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