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Vice-President stresses need for parliamentary reforms
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- VicePresident M. Venkaiah Naidu stressed the need for parliamentary reforms while addressing The First Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture organised by Delhi University on Tuesday and laid out a 16-point agenda.
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- There is a need for reorientation on the part of MPs and more so a pressing need for parliamentary reforms to restore the trust of the people in parliamentary institutions,” he said.
- Points out problems in the parliamentary system:
(1) Declining number of sittings of legislatures
(2) Persistent disruptions
(3) Declining quality of debates
(4) Growing number of legislatures with criminal records
(5) High degree of absenteeism
(6) Inadequate representation of women
(7) Increase in money and muscle power in elections
(8) Lack of inner democracy in functioning of the political parties.
(9) With a higher number of literate people and those with advanced qualifications, it’s ironical that such concerns had become even more pronounced compared to earlier leading to an erosion of trust of the people in these law-making bodies.
- 16 point agenda includes:
(1) Need to review anti-defection law to address “grey areas” that led to the expulsion of legislators
(2) Review of the “Whip System which was stifling reasonable dissent within parties even over nonconsequential matters”.
(3) Need to fix longer tenures for Standing Committees to ensure their effective functioning and said he would take up the issue with the Lok Sabha Speaker.
(4) Need to improve the representation of women
(5) Stronger rules with regard to attendance
(6) Regular reports on the performance of legislators
(7) Need to make effective interventio
Sources
The Hindu